Written In The Stars
by unconquered
Summary: A mysterious voice is heard by Rangers across time. Who speaks? Is it a force of evil or a force of good? It is written in the stars... Rated T may go up! This story will no longer be updated on this pen name. See last chapter for explination.
1. Space

_A/N To anyone who has read either of my other stories, I apologize, my computer crashed rather spectacularly and I had to buy a new one. I have more story idea for them in a notebook that I left in my locker at work, but I've had this floating in my mind all day. It's the start of an interesting story... Tell me what you think; please._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, they belong to Disney, Saban, and a couple of other people.**

* * *

_TJ grunted as he sent a Quantron sailing over his shoulder. It crashed into something, a trash can by the sound, but he was already facing his next target, and hoping that the others got there quickly. He kicked, and then heard the familiar sound of a Galaxy Glider,_ "It's time to get up, TJ." 

TJ jumped, and opened his eyes. He was on the Megaship, and it had only been a dream. "It is time to get up, TJ." DECA announced.

"Yeah, yeah," TJ muttered, throwing back his sheets. "DECA, did anyone ever tell you that you are the most annoying thing I've ever met?"

"You have," DECA replied.

"Good, go away," TJ said, slipping out of the bunk. The red light on DECA's camera shut off and TJ smiled. He had that much out of her-it. He stretched, and felt his ribs protest slightly. Two weeks after the final battle and he was still feeling the bruises. No, he amended quickly; those bruises came from a hurricane kick he hadn't dodged. The only reminder that the war had finished was that they were headed for Earth, and they didn't have to worry about Quantrons. He dressed in a clean Megaship uniform, and made his bed, a silent apology to DECA for snapping. He had a private war going with the computer, but they tended to do nice things on occasion, to show that they both knew that the pranks and other actions weren't serious. He checked his room, nodded and headed up to the glider bay for breakfast.

As he stepped into the room, he found himself alone with Carlos, and he swallowed softly. Carlos turned and smiled, "Hey Teej," he said.

TJ smiled, "Hey, Carlos. What's up?"

"Just thinking, you know? It's over, it's really over," Carlos said.

**"_That's what you think, Rangers."_**

The pair jerked, their eyes scanning the room wearily. "Who are you? Show yourself?" TJ demanded.

_**"It is written in the stars, Rangers of the Astro Megaship. We will meet, and our meeting will shatter the fragile peace you think you have won."**_ A neurotic laugh filled the room for a bare moment, and then all was silent.

"DECA?" Carlos asked, unsteadily.

"Yes, Carlos?" DECA asked, her tone as calm as ever.

"Did you just record an incident? A voice?" TJ asked, moving towards the table.

"No, TJ, I have no record of anything."

TJ caught Carlos's eye, "I'm eating breakfast," TJ announced, "Then we can have as many crisis as we need." He stalked over to the Synthatron, fully prepared to put away the strange voice. For now.


	2. Quantium

**A/N: Short, again, cringes it just seems to work that way. Decided to do each story for two. Name of the story is a mix of Quantum and Titanium, chosen for the fun of the moment.**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING: but the bear that is, 'cause I wanted a bear.**

**The bear says that if you don't review, it will eat you, HA!**

Ryan wondered if his bad luck was his karma finally coming to take revenge for his years of evil, or if the universe just didn't like him. He'd gone hiking in the forests surrounding Silver Hills, and had had a horrible time. First, he'd gotten lost for two days; dumped into a river while fleeing a bear; been rained on, and when he finally found his truck back, it wouldn't start. The rain hadn't stopped all day, his cell phone didn't have signal and he didn't know exactly how far he'd have to walk to call a mechanic, not that he really wanted to after all that had happened. He was sitting in his truck, trying to gather up enthusiasm for the walk, when a black SUV pulled into the parking lot. He practically flew out of the truck and started waving his arms.

The SUV parked near his truck and a _very_ familiar face appeared in the open window. "Are you all right?" Eric Myers called.

Ryan trotted over, "Man, am I glad to see a familiar face," he said, "Don't know if you remember me?"

"Ryan Mitchell," Eric replied, with a nod of acknowledgement, "Dana just called HQ asking if I'd seen you."

Ryan sighed, "I've had the worst two days since I retired. My truck won't start, but it's not the battery. Can you give me a lift?"

Eric eyed the soaked, mud splattered man, and then nodded, "Fine. Get in; we can call a tow truck later."

Ryan grinned, "Let me lock up my truck," he ran over, locked up the truck and hurried back to jump into the front of Eric's SUV. "I can't tell you how happy I am. I was trying to figure out if I had it in me to walk down to the gas station to call for a tow truck or not. Getting lost for two days is not my idea of a fun time."

"Lost?" Eric asked.

"Yeah," Ryan leaned back, "It was one of the worst vacations to date." He let his eyes close, having made up for his word deficit. He was ready to grab a quick nap in the warm, dry SUV.

Eric snorted suddenly, and Ryan jumped, "Sorry, just trying to figure out how you got lost on those trails. They're distinctly marked."

"There was this bear," Ryan muttered, defensively, "I was trying to back away calmly and it charged, so I ran and I fell into a river and when I climbed out there were no pretty signs saying 'Parking lot this way'."

Eric was quiet for a moment, and then a muffled laugh escaped, "A bear?"

"It's not funny," Ryan retorted angrily.

_**"It is funny to those who do not experience it."**_ A voice commented.

Eric slammed on the brakes, throwing Ryan against his seatbelt. "What the fuck?" Eric demanded, spinning in his seat, "Whose there?"

_**"I have many names, Red Quantum Ranger; as many names as the Stars in the Sky. You may think of me as the Star Master. Titanium Ranger may remember me later. After all, even the demons respected me. It is written in the Stars, Children of the Night that we shall meet. When the Team has held the Power of the Rangers, then we shall meet. As I have written, so it will be."**_

Ryan had become very pale, and at first Eric thought it was because of this mysterious voice, before he could say anything though, Ryan threw off his harness, yanked open the door and heaved. Eric had a sudden flash of intuition, the former Titanium Ranger was sick, probably from swimming in the spring-fed Silver River, and then hiking through nearly two days of rain. When the door shut, he spoke, "Let's get you down to the hospital, and then we can worry about spooky voices in the middle of nowhere." He threw the SUV into drive and started down the mountain once more.

**A/N 2: After consuming a few too many Smerinoff Raw Teas (Rasberry) and then pigging out on a couple of giant chocolate bars, I finally sucomb to insanity. There is no bear, please review**

**A/N 3: Urgh, formatting problems, sorry about that. I think I got it fixed now, if not, well, I'll keep trying.**


	3. Wild Wind

A/N: I could totally see Taylor and Eagle Zord hanging out like that, just for the fun of it. Who couldn't?

Please, please, let me know if part of the story seems missing! I didn't realize anything was wrong until a friend of me sent me an e-mail about it.

* * *

Tori leaned on the rail above the lake and watched the water, amused. She'd heard that it was shaped similar to a turtle, and the stroll she'd taken hadn't killed the effect. Movement to her left made her look; another woman was leaning on the rail, her eyes had the unfocused look of someone caught in the depths of a memory. Her dark eyes snapped back into reality suddenly and she looked at Tori, "Hi," she said.

Tori smiled, "Hello," she considered her options briefly, "I'm Tori, do you live in Turtle Cove?"

The woman smiled, "Yes, I do. I'm Alyssa."

"I was wondering; is this really shaped like a turtle?" Tori asked, gesturing to the lake.

"Yes," Alyssa replied, "it's something to see from the sky."

Tori was about to reply when a large yellow bird swooped over head, followed by a fighter jet. Her mouth dropped open, "That's a Zord!" She yelped as the two flew off.

Alyssa laughed, "It's the Yellow Eagle Zord, one of the Wild Force Zords."

"Wow," Tori said, "it felt like, like it was alive." She said, half-aware she was speaking aloud, "The Dolphin never felt like that."

Alyssa wondered what the girl was speaking of, but she decided to change the subject slightly, "Have you seen Zords before?"

"Yeah," Tori laughed shakily, "I'm from Blue Bay Harbor; we had the Ninja Storm Rangers."

"I remember from the news," Alyssa said. She also remembered Tommy's e-mail, updating the Ranger list with the Wind Rangers, Thunder Rangers and their Samurai ally. It had been followed with the expanding Dino Thunder list. "Which Ranger was your favorite?" If she was right, she was talking to a fellow Ranger now.

"Blue," Tori said, "The Blue Rangers, both of them. I felt sorry for the Light Blue, because she was the only girl and the Navy Ranger because I think he liked her." Tori's voice faded off, _'Do you like me Blake? Where did you go after Reefside?'_

"I liked the White Wild Force Ranger," Alyssa replied neutrally.

Tori snapped back into focus, and it finally clicked. She'd seen the video Dr. Oliver had made, and now she knew where she had seen the woman before her before. She opened her senses and determined what she knew, no one was near by; she dropped her voice slightly, "Let me introduce myself," she said simply, "I'm Tori Hanson, Water Master, Ninja and former Blue Wind Ranger."

Alyssa smiled, "Alyssa Enrile, White Wild Force Ranger; the Noble Tiger." She offered her hand, "I'm happy to meet you, Tommy told me about you."

Tori shook her hand, "Dr. Oliver showed my team the video he made, and it just took me a bit to realize that you were on it. I remembered because Dr. Oliver and Trent were complaining about girls like you and me altering tried and true, because you were a 'Lady White', as Dr. Oliver put it, and I was a 'Lady Blue' while Dustin was a guy Yellow."

Alyssa giggled, "It's hard to think of Tommy with a PhD," She admitted, "we got to meet the first ones about a year ago, and with all their stories, it's hard to think of Tommy as legendary."

Tori shrugged, "I think it's because he's older than us, we respect him," she leaned back against the railing, "I mean, the Dino Thunders had a weird relationship with him, they treat him like he's one of them, but when he talks, they listen. Even if they don't jump to, they think about what he said, because he's experienced. At the same time, he's their _science teacher_ and he's odd, so they try to keep distance from him, especially at school."

"Yeah," Alyssa said, "I can see that." She gestured, "Want to get a bite to eat? I'm meeting Taylor in a bit; I know she'll like to meet another girl Ranger."

"That sounds good," Tori agreed.

_**"Enjoy what you have while you have, Star Children. It is ending, the battle of the Thunder-struck Dinosaurs, and your time approaches. Be warned, Rangers of the Wild and Wind. It is written in the Stars that we shall meet."**_ The odd voice paused, _**"A single hint, look in Time for the Speed of Light, in Space for the Turbo, a meeting of Rangers, written in the Stars, for time's ending, and life's beginning. We will meet, as it is written so it shall be."**_

Alyssa and Tori exchanged glances, and Tori pulled out a small notebook from her back pocket, "What did he say? Look in time…" she trailed off as she pulled a pen from her pocket and began to write.

"Look in Time for the Speed of Light, in Space for the Turbo, a meeting of Rangers, written in the Stars, for time's ending, and life's beginning." Alyssa said.

Tori nodded, "These have to be clues for the other Rangers, let's go somewhere where we can work on this. I have a hotel room."

"I have a house," Alyssa countered, "with internet and free long distance. Let's go."


	4. Gathering Part One

A/N: This is part one of a two part piece, devided because I couldn't figure out how to bridge the two parts. The mystery unfolds more, and hey, it's getting longer! Guess I just need to know my characters. Although I think they're becoming more AU than I really thought. I'm trying! Once again, if the formatting is bad, let me know!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers, sorry.

* * *

Tori wondered just how much longer she'd have to deal with her headache before they figured this out. As she eyed the words they'd written down, she thought of something and grabbed a fresh sheet. The activity caught Alyssa's eye, but she was explaining to Taylor why they wouldn't be meeting for lunch. Tori wrote quickly, _'Turbo Rangers, Astro Rangers, Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force, Wild Force, Ninja Storm/Wind Ranger.'_ She considered the list and the other piece, "Alyssa," she said, and gestured to the White Ranger. Alyssa said good bye to Taylor and hurried over. "Look at this. Speed of Light, also called Lightspeed. Time, there's a Time Force team. Look in Space for Turbo." 

"The Turbos went into space to become the Astros," Alyssa agreed. "Someone from each team must have been contacted." She reached for her address book, "I've got contacts for every Ranger before me. Tommy hasn't gotten around to spreading emergency information for you guys or the Dino Teens yet."

"I'll give it to you later," Tori promised as Alyssa found the number she wanted.

"I'm calling Eric's house, it's easier than trying to get past all the people at Wes's dad's place," Alyssa said, dialing quickly.

"Hello, Myers residence." Eric answered.

Alyssa sighed, "Eric, this is Alyssa Enrile, from Turtle Cove."

"How can I help you?" Eric replied.

"I have an odd question for you," Alyssa said, sitting down. "Have you had any experience recently, where you heard a disembodied voice, masculine but almost asexual."

"He says that meeting him is 'written in the stars' right?" Eric asked.

"Yes." Alyssa said.

"Yeah, Ryan Mitchell, from Lightspeed, and I both heard it. He called himself the Star Master."

"I'm here with Tori Hanson, Blue Wind Ranger from Blue Bay Harbor. We both heard it too." Alyssa said.

Eric paused, "Let me call Ryan, and we'll head down to Turtle Cove, ok? I think we need to talk."

"Call me when you hit the city limit," Alyssa replied. They said their farewells and Alyssa sat down. "Eric and Ryan, the Titanium Ranger, have both heard this voice. I would guess so have two of the Astros. Only Carlos and TJ are on Earth, and I have TJ's number, I'll call him."

"Ok," Tori said.

Alyssa called TJ, who answered the phone quickly, "Hello?"

"I'm looking for TJ Johnson," Alyssa said politely.

"This is he, who is this?"

"My name is Alyssa Enrile, but I was once called the White Noble Tiger in Turtle Cove."

"What's going on?"

"I was wondering if you would know if any of the Astro Rangers from Earth have ever heard a disembodied voice. It's a masculine voice that claims that there is a meeting between him and a group of Rangers that is 'written in the stars'." Alyssa said casually.

TJ's voice was very quiet, "That voice is not unknown to me. I heard it long ago, Carlos and I both did."

"That makes six," Alyssa said, "I heard it, as did Tori from the Wind Rangers, Eric Myers and Ryan Mitchell, Ryan is from Lightspeed. Tori's here in Turtle Cove, and Eric and Ryan are supposed to be heading this way as soon as they can."

"Carlos and I can be there tomorrow, but mostly because of the driving time than anything else." TJ replied instantly. "Do me one favor, Alyssa. Call one of your old teammates, tell them that you're going to be involved in some Ranger business you can't talk about, but ask them to call you every day. If you don't answer, they should come over. Unless you've told them that you're leaving."

"Do you one better," Alyssa countered, "They'll call my growl phone."

"Thought you gave that up," TJ said.

"Jendrax and Toxica found a rogue duke org and asked us for help. Cole got the morphers back and we've kept them for emergencies." Alyssa replied with a shrug. "As long as I'm on Earth, they'll be well able to contact me."

"Fine, we'll be there tomorrow," TJ said. "I'll see you then."

"See you then," Alyssa replied and hung up. "Well, TJ and Carlos saw it, so that's six of us."

Tori nodded, "And I'm the only one who can't morph." At Alyssa's look, she explained, "We lost our Powers to Lothor in the final battle. Cam reenergized the morphers when Lothor and Mesogog teamed up, but the Power faded after that. I have my Ninja abilities, but no super strength or healing."

"We'll figure something out," Alyssa said, "We can get TJ to give you his Astro morpher. He has two, the Red Turbo and Blue Astro." She looked at the verse again, "Hey, did you add to this?"

"What?" Tori leaned over, "No, I didn't."

The verse the mysterious voice had given them had been changed, it now read:

_Look in Time for the Speed of Light,  
__In Space for the Turbo,  
__In the Wild to see the Wind  
__A meeting of Rangers,  
__Written in the Stars,  
__For time's ending,  
__And Life's beginning_

"That's strange," Tori said, "'In the Wild to see the Wind'. That's got to be us. That voice called us the Rangers of Wind and Wild. I guess that's all of us."

Alyssa nodded, and then looked at the clock, "Wow, it's six o'clock, how did it get so late?"

"I'm hungry," Tori said.

"Me too, I know a great seafood restaurant," Alyssa said.

"I'm in," Tori replied. They gathered the papers into neat stacks and headed out to eat.


	5. Gathering Part Two

A/N: I covered a lot of ground here, so if it gets confusing, I'm sorry.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

* * *

TJ yawned as he drove past the Turtle Cove city limit, "Carlos, wake up," he said, poking his friend.

"Huh?" Carlos muttered.

"We're in Turtle Cove; you need to call Alyssa for directions to her place."

"Ok," Carlos said, he opened his cell phone and pulled up Alyssa's number. In moments, a flustered female voice answered, "Hello? Alyssa's home."

"Is Alyssa Enrile there?" Carlos asked.

"This is she," Alyssa replied, "Who is this?"

"Carlos Vargas, I'm with TJ Johnson."

"Oh, you're early!" Alyssa said, "I was just on my way to the store, good thing I answered the phone. Where are you?"

"We're on I-38 and we just passed the exit for the university," Carlos said.

"Take the next exit and turn left at the light," Alyssa said calmly.

"Next exit, left at the light," Carlos told TJ.

"From there, you'll go down four lights to Rosewood, turn right, follow Rosewood until you get to the houses, then look for Tiger Dr, turn right on Tiger, my house is the third on the left. Got that?"

"Rosewood, right, Tiger, right, third on left," Carlos repeated.

"Call me if you get lost, I'll be here," Alyssa said.

"Thank you," Carlos replied. They hung up and he settled back. "Look for Rosewood and turn right," he told TJ.

"Got it," TJ said. He got off the Interstate and swung left at the light. Then he drove down until he saw Rosewood, and swung a right; "now what?"

"Keep driving until you get to the residential section, then look for Tiger Dr, and turn right." Carlos said through a yawn.

"Don't fall asleep on me navigator." TJ teased, "I don't know where we're going."

"I won't," Carlos said absently.

Silence reigned in the car while they continued on, both content to just fall into the trance of many long trips together. They finally reached the residential section of Rosewood Ave and then Tiger Dr. As TJ turned, his eyes flicked to his mirror, "Carlos, we're being followed." A black SUV had been hanging in his mirror since they'd turned onto Rosewood, if not before.

"Third on the left," Carlos said, "could be coincidence."

"Do you believe that?" TJ demanded.

"Not really, but I had to say it," Carlos said as TJ pulled into Alyssa's drive way. The SUV followed suite.

Taking a deep breath, TJ got out as the door of the black SUV opened. When it shut, he grinned, "Eric! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you," Eric Myers replied as a second man got out of his SUV.

"Carlos, this is Eric Myers, Eric, this is Carlos Vargas." TJ said, "Carlos and I have been teammates since forever, although he's fans of Green and Black." He glanced at Carlos, "Eric served as sixth on Wes's team."

Carlos nodded, "I remember now, sorry, I'm only half awake."

"So am I," the other man said, yawning. "I'm Ryan Mitchell, from Mariner Bay. Lightspeed Titanium."

The door to the house opened and a petite brunette in white stepped out, "Eric, Ryan, TJ, and Carlos, good morning," she smiled as the four looked at her in surprise. "I'm Alyssa, Wild Force. Come in, please. Tori and I were just talking about when you'd get here." The four men followed her into her home, finding a pretty blond, easily five years younger than the others, sitting at the dining room table, frowning at one of the many sheets of paper on the table. As the front door shut, she looked up, and then stood up. "Eric, Ryan, TJ, and Carlos, I want you to meet Tori Hanson."

Tori smiled, "Hi, I was the Blue Wind Ranger. Please tell me that you have more pieces to this clue?"

_**"That won't be necessary, Ranger of the Wind."**_ The Star Master announced. _**"I had hoped you would bring everyone together. It saves me the trouble of visiting each of you in person."**_

Black fog filled the room, and Alyssa reached for her growl phone, snapping it open and hitting the all call button, "Cole Help-" she began, but the fog enshrouded her.

"Quantum Power!" Eric cried, but the fog had him before he could go further.

Tori summoned the water from her glass, "Ninja Beams!" She yelled. The blue lights disappeared into the fog, with her a step behind. Then Carlos, TJ and Ryan were firmly enshrouded. The fog vanished, leaving the room empty.

Cole arrived at Alyssa's house in less than ten minutes after receiving her message. He came morphed and prepared for trouble, only to find an empty home. Papers were scattered over the dining room table, and he picked one up;

_Look in Time for the Speed of Light,  
__In Space for the Turbo,  
__In the Wild to see the Wind  
__A meeting of Rangers,  
__Written in the Stars,  
__For Time's ending,  
__And Life's beginning_

_The Book of Stars in deepest light  
__Tells the tale of hope  
__Written in the Stars is Time's true end  
__Love forgotten is Love regained  
__Bonds forever in faded Dark_

Cole swore softly, then he lifted his wrist-com to his mouth, "Danny, Max, Taylor, come to Alyssa's place. Something's happened to her."

It took half an hour for the three other Wild Force Rangers to arrive, and they found Cole studying a stack of papers on the table. "What's going on?" Taylor demanded.

"I'm not sure," Cole said, "Alyssa, did you guys hear her?"

"No," Taylor said, "I woke up when you paged me."

Danny and Max shook their heads, "No, we only heard you." They said together.

"Alyssa said Cole, help and then she was cut off. Look at this, she was in trouble, I think." Cole handed the papers over to the others.

"Eric, Ryan, TJ, Carlos," Taylor said, "These are former Rangers."

"Max, Danny, see if you can TJ and Carlos, I'll try Ryan. Taylor, can you call Eric?" Cole said, looking at them.

"I'm all over it," Max replied.

The four pulled out cell phones and began to make calls, but it wasn't long before frustration made them hang up. As Cole opened his mouth to speak, a strange ring tone filled the room, along with a loud buzzing. Spotting a stack of papers vibrating, Taylor moved them aside to reveal a strange cell phone. She flipped it open and said, "Hello?"

"Who is this? Where's Tori?" A male voice demanded.

"I'm Captain Taylor Earheart," Taylor replied, "Who are you and who is Tori?"

"Earheart," the voice paused, "I'm Cam Watanabe. Tori Hanson is the owner of this cell phone. Why are you answering Tori's phone?"

Taylor remembered, "You're her teammate, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"I'm a teammate of Alyssa, she met Tori yesterday. Alyssa's gone missing, and if Tori's phone is here, I'd guess she has to." Taylor said, taking a risk.

"Well, there goes my day," Cam muttered, making Taylor frown. "Listen, I can have Dustin and Shane in Turtle Cove in less than fifteen minutes if need be. Should I get them?"

Taylor moved the phone, "Alyssa met a Ranger yesterday, Tori Hanson from Blue Bay Harbor, the Blue Wind Ranger. It's her phone and her teammate. He's offering to send two of Tori's teammates here, what do you say?"

Cole nodded, "Tell them to come."

"Yes," Taylor said, "we're stumped, perhaps they can help."

"They're on their way." Cam replied. Taylor gave Cam directions to Alyssa's house, figuring it was better to meet here before they opted to go somewhere else; a central meeting place would be useful.

Taylor folded the phone, "I'm going to call Wes, he may know something."

"I'll call Carter," Cole replied. "Andros and the other Astros live off planet, but Tommy's got a communication device, we can see if they know anything."

Max and Danny began to sift through the notes left by Alyssa and Tori while the other two made their calls, however, a polite knock on the door drew Max away. Standing outside were two young men, one in red, the other in yellow. "Hello," Max said, calmly.

"I'm Shane, this is Dustin," the taller of the two said. "We're Tori's teammates."

Cole appeared behind Max, "Come in, but expect to prove yourselves," he said softly.

Shane led Dustin inside, before Max could shut the door, however, a firm gust of wind pushed it shut. The pair gestured and was clothed in black leather suits, identical save for badges and trim, Shane in red, Dustin in yellow. "What proof do you need?" Shane asked.

"Wes is coming," Taylor said from the living room. "We should move this to the Animarium, it'll be safer there."

Cole nodded, "The Wild Zords will know better than anyone if these two are truly Rangers." He turned to the pair, "The Animarium is our base, it's protected by enchantments that will allow few people onto it. Will you come with us?"

Shane looked at Dustin, who nodded, "Let me tell Cam," he said simply, "he'll contact Hunter and stand by."

Cole shrugged, "I'll try Carter again, then the Aqua Base, while you do that. Taylor, call Tommy. Ask him to see if he can find out if Andros knows where TJ and Carlos are, because we can't reach them and we have at least two missing Rangers on our hands."

All in all, it took half an hour for them to complete their calls, coming up with Eric, and most likely Ryan, having gone missing. Tommy would contact them when he'd spoken to Andros or someone else on the Mega Ship. He was concerned about the missing Rangers, but seemed unwilling to get involved. Taylor didn't blame him; the other Ranger had just helped his team defeat Mesogog and was no doubt exhausted. They gathered Alyssa's papers and went up to the Animarium. They spent the next four hours waiting on the Lightspeed Rangers and Wes to arrive. Finally, the teammates of the confirmed missing were on the Animarium, but no one was entirely sure where they stood.

It was later said that Dustin was to blame for what happened next, he was, after all, the first to complain about hunger. When others began to speak up, it was decided to head down for food, then return for the night. They went down to Earth and that's where things went wrong. Taylor saw them first, but her cry of relief became strangled as she, and everyone else, took in the new uniforms of their missing teammates.

TJ wore a dark red shirt that called to mind dried blood and black jeans and boots. He also had strange, scarlet markings on his face and arms.

Carlos wore stark white, and white streaks appeared in his hair, over his face and down his arms. Slung over his back was a sword.

Eric wore black, and his black markings seemed to be a reverse of Carlos.

Ryan wore dark grey, and the silver marking would have been hard to see had they not been edged in black.

Tori wore green, her hair was a solid mass of green, and her face looked hideous under the green markings.

Alyssa wore pink, and while the color would normally have been seen as soft, it seemed to be dark and menacing, especially when her eyes flashed.


	6. Written

A/N: Wow, it just keeps getting long, but I like that. The more I get into the story, the more that I want to write, so it just doesn't stop until I make myself stop.

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

* * *

It was Carter who finally spoke, "Ryan, are you ok?"

Ryan snorted, "Never better, _oh fearless leader,_" he sneered.

"Alyssa," Cole said, stepping forward, "what happened, you called for help?"

Alyssa laughed, "Poor, noble Cole," she said mockingly, "always ready to save me, even when I don't ask."

TJ pointed at the Rangers, "Be warned," he said, "The Star Children are coming into their Power, and their Destiny. You would be wise to warn the others; especially the Betrayers. You have six days to prepare your surrender, for when we have gained the Powers of the Day Stars, we will be back to see you destroyed." He faded into a crimson spark, with Carlos, Ryan, Eric and Taylor right behind.

Alyssa watched them for a moment more, reached into her pocket and dropped something before fading into her own dark pink spark. Taylor wondered if she had actually seen the tear roll down her cheek as she left.

Cole hurried up to where the six had stood and looked on the ground, when he turned around, he held up a memory stick. "This is what she dropped," he said quietly, as he walked to them.

"Cam can probably access that," Shane said, "he's a computer genius."

Everyone looked at each other and nodded, "Let's go," Cole said.

As they headed to where the vehicles were parked, the group drifted into teams, and pairs. Wes and Taylor led the way, silently. Kelsey and Chad followed, their hands intertwined, seeking comfort as Ryan's cruel voice played in both their minds. Cole walked alone, with Max and Danny just behind him. They kept looking at each other, trying to figure out why Cole had changed. He seemed colder now than he had before Alyssa had mocked him, and there was an almost untouchable aura to him. Carter and Dana were behind Max and Danny, Carter with his arm around Dana's shoulders, offering comfort and shelter as they walked. Shane and Dustin were last, and they were the only ones talking, a soft murmur that barely reached the others. "Dude, you really think they were evil?" Dustin suddenly yelped, "Tori's not evil."

"Dustin," Shane said, his voice softer, "how many times did Blake and Hunter get brainwashed? Or when Lothor came back? Evil spells and brainwashing happens. It happened. Why else would they have threatened us?"

"Tori's not evil," Dustin insisted. "She didn't even say anything. They could be, like, holding her against her will."

"Which is why we're going to see Cam," Shane explained, "Cam will figure this out."

Their voices fell again, but Kelsey, up in front looked over at Chad, "They have a lot of faith in this 'Cam'." She said quietly.

"At least they have hope," Chad replied. "Six days, Kelsey. That's not a lot of time."

"We'll save them," Kelsey said firmly, "we're Power Rangers. Anything is possible."

"Hey!" Someone shouted, and sounds of a scuffle brought everyone's attention to the right.

"Get off me!" Someone else said.

"Merric!" Cole said, and rushed into the bushes around the trail, Max and Danny right behind.

Moments later they came back with Merric, the sixth member of Wild Force, and Joel, who looked disgruntled. "Joel, are you all right?" Carter asked.

"I thought I saw something earlier," Joel said, "I went to check it out and I saw him watching us. He wouldn't tell me anything and his buddy in the trench coat attacked me."

"Zen Aku guards my back," Merric snapped, "he thought you were a threat." He looked at the others, "We saw what happened, and Zen Aku has some answers."

"We're going to Blue Bay Harbor," Cole said, "we're going to see what the disk says. Will you both come?"

"Yes," Merric said.

The group finished the short walk and climbed into their respective vehicles. Carter and the Lightspeed Rangers in their Hummer, Wes and Wild Force in there SUV, when they turned to the problem of Shane and Dustin, Shane had the answer. "Let me and Dustin take the memory stick," he said, "we can get to Blue Bay Harbor faster than any of you, and we can give it to Cam. By the time you get to the city, he'll have it cracked. We'll need Sensei's permission to bring so many outsiders up, so you may have to wait in the city while he decides. I'll need a cell number, so we can find you."

Cole shook his head, "You could be attacked alone, it's better to travel as a group."

"Cole, we're Ninjas," Shane said, "There's little we're not trained to handle."

Cole hesitated a moment, and then handed it over, "We'll meet you in Blue Bay Harbor."

Wes gave them his number and the duo streaked off. It took them less than fifteen to reach Blue Bay, but they didn't stop in town, they went straight up into the woods, coming to a stop at the edge of the pool around the holographic entrance. Shane strode confidently across the water with Dustin a step behind. "Dude, I have a class," Dustin said as they crossed the portal. "Ari covered my earlier ones, but he has a class now too."

"Naomi is covering for me all day," Shane said, "I'll talk to Cam and Sensei. You go teach your class." Dustin nodded and trotted off to the practice grounds while Shane headed for Ninja Ops. Cam would, no doubt, be haunting the place until he was sure they were safe. A few teachers greeted him, but Shane's tense expression kept them from talking. He reached the door to Ops, punched in the code and bounded down the stairs lightly. "Cam," he said as he walked in, unsurprised to see the genius at the computer, "the news isn't good."

Cam turned, "What's going on?"

"Tori's been kidnapped, along with five other Rangers, TJ Johnson, Carlos Vargas, Ryan Mitchell, Eric Myers and Alyssa Enrile. We met up with their teammates, except TJ and Carlos's because nobody can get a hold of them. That's when we saw Tori, she's been brainwashed. They made threats and left, Alyssa dropped this, deliberately. We thought you could figure out what it is." Shane offered Cam the memory stick, which Cam accepted, "Dustin and I streaked back, and the others are coming by car. They'll wait in the city unless Sensei says they can come to the Academy."

Cam regarded the memory stick, "If this is harmless, and if Dad says no, then we'll go to Dr. Oliver. In fact, we'll get Conner to call him."

Shane frowned; they'd accepted Conner McKnight into the Academy the week after Mesogog's defeat, but had often found him a challenge. They didn't want the Academy aware of Conner's status of a former Ranger, especially with his trouble in learning an element, but at the same time, Conner's own Dino Power made that hard. He was careful, but it was a possibility that Conner's secret wouldn't stay so for long; especially if they asked him to intervene with Dr. Oliver. "We'll have to be careful about that," Shane said, "he's the one who asked us to keep his secret."

"Don't worry, just pull him into your office, give him a run through and ask him if he'd do it. The worst he could do is say no," Cam said.

"I'm going to talk to Sensei first," Shane replied.

Cam nodded and looked at the memory stick again, "I'll contact you when I get this cracked. Where is Dustin by the way?"

"He had to teach a class that he couldn't get covered," Shane said. "Naomi is covering for me all day, so I can work on this." He accepted Cam's nod as understanding and headed up the stairs to locate Sensei.

Sensei found him, however, as Shane headed for the meditation spot that Sensei had long favored. "Today did not go well," he said.

Shane sighed, "Not really, Sensei. Can we speak in private, please?"

"Come," Sensei guided Shane back to the mediation spot. "No one will bother us here."

"First off, Dustin's with his class." Shane said, "Second, Tori's been kidnapped. I'm leaning towards brainwashed as well, but Dustin doesn't think so."

"Why is this?" Sensei asked.

"When we arrived in Turtle Cove, we met with the Wild Force Rangers, and later, Wes, the Time Force Red Ranger and the Lightspeed Rangers joined us. The Wild Force team is missing their White Ranger, Alyssa Enrile. Wes lost his partner, Eric, the Quantum Ranger, and Lightspeed lost Ryan Mitchell. Also missing were TJ Johnson and Carlos Vargas from the Astro Rangers. Cole, Wild Force Red, contacted Dr. Oliver to see if any of the Astros could be contacted and they hadn't heard back last I knew. We spent several hours trying to see if we could determine what happened, but eventually hunger intervened. We went out to find food and that's when we saw them. Tori and the others, that is, but Tori was in green, and the others weren't in their normal colors either. TJ said that we had six days to surrender or Earth would be destroyed and that a group he called the Betrayers should be on special look out. Then he left, the others followed, but Alyssa stayed long enough to drop something. It's a memory stick and I brought it to Cam to analyze. The other Rangers are coming by car to Blue Bay Harbor, but I didn't want to give them directions here. That's your call, Sensei. I don't see how having twenty or so Rangers breathing down Cam's neck is going to help." Shane sat back, waiting for Sensei Watanabi to respond.

Sensei considered for a long time, then spoke, "I agree that all should not come. Instruct them to select two representatives to come up and here what Cam has to say."

Shane nodded, and then paused, "I almost forgot, the Wild Force Silver, Merric, and his partner Zen Aku want to come up. Zen Aku is a reformed villain who says he has answers. However, I know that Cole will want to be here. I think he likes Alyssa."

"Now is not the time to muse on the relationships around you, Shane," Sensei chided gently. "Instead, I would suggest you reflect on the next part of your journey. I have business of my own to attend, if you need me, however, my door is always open."

"Of course, Sensei," Shane replied, bowing his head.


	7. Blue Bay

A/N: My longest part yet. We have here a rather ooc Dustin here, but there's reason for it, I promise! We also throw in another loop to the story...oh, and to GinaStar: Nah, the SO factor was totally unrelated, besides Ryan and Eric are single. I just wanted to do a story about TJ and Carlos, 'cause I find them to be underwritten around here, and well, it just kind of exploded.

Disclaimer: I have fuzzy bunnies and Happy Bunny stickers, but I don't own Power Rangers

Dedication: To my best friend, Jo, and hope that next week will be better! After all, you've replaced everything that's on the "most likely to break" list for your truck. (Ducks from the rubber penguins)

* * *

Cole hadn't realized just how far Blue Bay Harbor was from Turtle Cove until they set out to drive. The Ninjas' ability to move at speeds exceeding anything a car could do had given him the impression they weren't far away. After six hours in the car, he reflected that he hadn't been still that long since his trip up from the Amazon. Max and Danny had begun talking rather excitedly about hour three, and Taylor had settled into a pattern of ignore or yell after the first thirty minutes. Wes had put the radio on and was seemingly lost in the music; only a brief flicker when Taylor yelled belied his attention to anything beyond the road and the music. Cole had simply watched the road flash by, wishing that he had been faster, that he'd gotten to Alyssa before she'd been taken.

A sign flashed by, jolting Cole from his thoughts. They were in Blue Bay Harbor. Ahead of them, Carter moved from the fast lane to the slow lane and behind them, the motorcycles with Merric and Zen Aku followed. They exited the interstate and soon found themselves in the parking lot of a Motel 8. As Wes went in to secure rooms, his phone rang. Cole answered, "Wes Collins's phone, this is Cole Evans."

"Cole? Shane, I'm glad you answered," Shane said, he sounded tense.

"What's going on Shane?" Cole asked.

"Where are you?" Shane replied.

"We're getting rooms at a Motel 8," Cole said, "or rather, Wes is."

"Ok, there's only one of those in town. Dustin, Cam, Hunter and I will be there in about ten minutes." Shane replied, "Cam's the Green Samurai and Hunter is Crimson Thunder."

"Got it," Cole replied. He hung up as Wes came out, "Shane called, he's on his way here with Dustin, and two others, he said to give him ten minutes."

"All right," Wes replied. He held up room keys, "We've got seven rooms, all doubles, so we'll need to pick roommates."

"Danny and I will room together," Max said instantly.

"As will Zen Aku and I," Merric said.

"Chad and I have been roommates before," Joel said, "we can survive a few more nights together."

"Taylor," Dana said, after a short whispered conversation with Kelsey, "Kelsey and I can room together so you can have your own room if you want." Kelsey nodded quickly.

"That sounds good. The Reds can fight each other for the other room," Taylor said bluntly.

The three leaders blinked, then looked at each other, "Wes paid," Carter said, "I say give him a room alone. I can handle sleeping in the same room with someone."

Cole nodded, "As long as you don't snore."

"I won't if you won't," Carter replied.

The teams turned to grab hastily packed bags, and Wes handed out key cards and room assignments. They were heading in when a beat-up crimson pick-up pulled into the lot. Shane and Dustin leapt out of the back and jogged over, "Hey," Shane said as two other young men climbed out of the truck cab. "Sorry about the wait, we had vehicle issues."

One of the two young men who hadn't been introduced, an Asian man who seemed older than the others, rolled his eyes. "Shane, we argued over shot gun privileges. Saying it any other way is not going to impress people."

Shane turned to glare, but stopped at the sight of Hunter's smirk; instead he squared his shoulders, lifted his chin and turned back, "Did you get rooms all right?" He asked.

"Yes, we're just putting our stuff in there now," Wes replied.

Shane nodded, "Dustin and I have a house here in town, which is where Hunter's going to crash. Dustin's got dinner cooking, so we can go there to eat."

"Yeah, you all like Chinese, right?" Dustin asked, "Because that's what I'm making, just gotta do up the stir-fry when we get back."

Agreement came instantly, and Shane found it his turn to smirk at Hunter's look, "Dustin cooks," he told him, "and he's very good at it. Besides doing a full Chinese meal, he also does a mean lasagna. You can try it later, I'm sure there's leftovers."

"While you discuss Dustin's cooking ability," Carter said, "we'll go toss these in our rooms and we'll take you up on food. It's late, I'm hungry, and I want to hear what you've found out."

"Fine," Shane said.

Wes followed the others inside as an argument between the four began over food and who cooked better. "They're like high school students," Taylor muttered.

"They can't be that long out of school," Kelsey said, "they're rather young."

"Still, you'd think they didn't have a worry in the world, the way they carry on." Taylor retorted as she found her room.

Cole left the arguing women and followed Carter into their own room. "You ok?" Carter asked.

"I'm just worried, about Alyssa," Cole replied, dropping his bag on the bed. "She's one of _mine_ and she asked me to help her."

Carter rested his hand on Cole's shoulder, "Cole, she's still alive. If that stick has what I hope it has, she's still there. We all have those regrets inside, especially over things like this. It's a part of being human. I know that not a day goes by that Captain Mitchell doesn't blame himself for what happened to Ryan as a boy, even with Ryan back. Things go wrong, and we always beat ourselves up because we want to be better. Brooding over what could have been isn't going to help Alyssa. We need to focus on now, and what we're doing. Now then, I'm hungry. Are you brave enough to face Dustin's cooking?"

Cole smirked, Dustin had become good friends with Max and Danny over the hours they'd spent together, and the boy's optimistic and almost innocent nature meshed quite well with Max and Danny's 'never give up' motto. "I may not know much about space," he said, rolling his eyes now at how pompous that had sounded the first time he said it, "but I'm hungry and I'd fight Red Lion for good food."

Laughing, Carter steered Cole back into the hall. Cole noticed Wes looking at him, and didn't miss Carter's discrete thumbs up in Wes's direction. The older Reds were looking out for him, knowing, as any good Red Ranger would, that Cole took Alyssa's change personally. The other Rangers joined them in the hall and they headed back outside. Dustin, Shane, and the two others, presumably Hunter and Cam, were still arguing, but as they got closer, they found that they were now arguing over the rules of shotgun. "The way I heard it, the driver pays, but the passenger takes the money in," Dustin was saying.

"Are we eating today, or are we arguing?" Joel asked.

The four looked up and grinned, "Eating," the blond said.

"Oh," Dustin said, "Hunter, Cam, this is Cole, Wes, Carter, Joel, Chad, Max, Danny, Merric, Taylor, Kelsey, and Dana. Everyone, this is Hunter Bradley and Cam Watanabe."

"Nice to meet you," Hunter said.

"We'll get those names repeated later," Cam added, "so we can put faces to names."

"Let's go eat," Shane said, and boosted himself into the back of the truck. Dustin jumped up behind him.

"Follow me," Hunter said, "I'm the only one who drives my truck."

"Unless you're drunk," Cam retorted, climbing up front.

Hunter shook his head and turned to go around to the driver side. Cole got into the front of Wes's SUV while the rest of his team, minus Merric and Zen Aku, climbed in the back. He saw the Lightspeed Rangers climb into their Hummer and then Hunter's truck fired up. The pulled out of the motel parking lot and across the bustling city to a nice neighborhood, filled with beautifully designed one and two story homes. The one that Hunter pulled up to was a two story, with a well maintained yard. By the time everyone had piled out, Dustin had raced into the house while Shane laughingly followed him.

Cole followed the others towards the door, and he overheard Hunter say to Cam, "Are we still sure they're straight?"

"Dustin has a girlfriend," Cam replied.

Cole shook his head and stepped into one of the most tastefully decorated homes he'd ever seen. Shane was getting people settled in the living room while Dustin, apparently, was cooking. "Who decorated?" Dana asked, "This is a beautiful place."

Shane shrugged, "My mom, she's an interior decorator. Dustin's parents own the house, since we don't, exactly, have jobs. When we wanted a place to get away from our work, the parents got together and came up with this."

"Now I'm confused," Wes said, "what, exactly, do you do. We never heard."

"It's going to take about fifteen minutes for this to finish," Dustin announced as he stepped into the room from another door. "If Hunter and Cam agree, you should tell them." He disappeared back into what Cole thought was the kitchen before anyone could say anything.

"Mature Dustin," Hunter commented, "I'm still not used to it."

"He has his moments," Shane said, "mostly he's just the same as ever."

"So, we're doing this," Cam said.

The three took deep breaths, and turned to the expectant room, "We're Ninjas," Shane said, "and we trained at secret Ninja Academies. Tori, Dustin and I studied at the Wind Ninja Academy here in Blue Bay, Hunter and Blake trained at the Thunder Academy up North."

"My father is the head of the Wind Academy," Cam said, "I never officially studied there, although I did take lessons. Dad promised Mom that I wouldn't become a Ninja. I'm not, I'm a Samurai."

"After we defeated Lothor and graduated," Hunter continued, "I accepted the post of head teacher at the Thunder Academy. My brother Blake signed with Factory Blue and is a professional motocross racer."

"Tori, Dustin and I teach at the Wind Academy," Shane added.

"As do I," Cam said, "but I teach Samurai classes."

Hunter crossed his arms, "We trust you not to blab about the academies, they've been a closely held secret for a very long time."

"Don't worry," Wes said, "we won't tell anyone." The other Rangers nodded.

"Sensei Watanabe is the only one who can approve visitors to the Academy," Shane said, "I spoke with him today about what happened. He will permit two people from each team to visit the Academy if need be. For now, our house can be used as a meeting place."

"The computers here aren't as good," Cam said, "but I can remote access the super computer if I need to. Cyber Cam's watching the monitors now, incase something happens."

"Cyber Cam?" Dana repeated.

"Cam's holographic twin," Shane replied, his tone conveying his dislike of the other. "He's not a bad guy, just annoying."

"Food ready," Dustin announced, appearing in the door, "Taylor, Dana and Kelsey, would you like to go first?"

"Thank you," Kelsey replied. The three girls filed past him into the kitchen and soon returned with food. The Lightspeed men, with Wes, went next, then the Wild Force. Shane and the ninjas went last, and when they came back, they settled on the floor with ease.

"Ok," Cam said, "Shane told me that there were papers recovered from Alyssa's home. I'll want to see them tomorrow, the thing I want to ask today is do we know who the Betrayers are?"

Eyes turned to Merric's silent shadow, Zen Aku. The former Duke Org looked back, unmoved. "The Betrayers are Ranger like Merric," he said finally, "Rangers who served Evil for a distinct length of time before returning to the Light. It would make sense that these Rangers would strike at them, because they have, in other eyes, betrayed the Dark."

"Blake and I qualify then," Hunter announced, "we were brainwashed and worked for Lothor at the beginning."

"That also means that Dr. Oliver and Trent should be warned," Cam added.

"Hey, I have a question," Max said, "Who is Blake and why isn't he here?"

Hunter's face became an emotionless mask, "Blake is my brother and the Navy Thunder Ranger, he graduated with us and is a Thunder Master, but he doesn't teach. About four months ago he just disappeared," he said. "It was after Lothor came back and teamed up with Mesogog. Lothor's nieces, Cam's cousins, are, or rather, were training at the Wind Academy. They came back and, well, Cam knows what happened better than I."

Cam nodded, "Mara and Kapri wanted to talk to me about something, but at the time, I was dealing with a second round of withdrawal and wasn't up to listening to their air headed babble. Believe me; none of you would last fifteen minutes in a car with either of them, much less putting them together. Well, when Blake came to visit Tori, they cornered him, and then they all left. No warning; he even stood Tori up. He did contact Factory Blue, the motocross team he races for, and told them he had a family emergency that meant he couldn't come back for a while. No one's heard from any of them since. I've used every method of tracking at my disposal, but it's like they left the planet, even though they don't have access to a ship that I'm aware of."

"You didn't ask any other team about him?" Carter asked.

"We asked Dr Oliver to ask," Shane replied, "we didn't want to cause a big fuss over it, I mean, it could be like that Red Alert just before Mesogog was defeated. Dr Oliver said that the Ranger in question, Justin something, had just forgotten his cell phone when he went on vacation. He was more annoyed and embarrassed than anything."

"Can I ask a stupid question?" Dustin asked, his thoughtful voice catching attention quickly. "Did anyone ask Justin what he knows? Justin was a Turbo Ranger with TJ and Carlos."

Silence reigned as the other Rangers looked at each other.


	8. Justin

A/N: My usual site for Ranger info says Justin was 11 in the show, and that's what I'm basing my Justin off. Brought back Storm Blaster because I thought that the car wasn't played enough. Invented a word with this chapter 'uncarlike', to describe Storm Blaster...

Disclaimer: Sorry, no Rangers here.

* * *

Justin idly tossed the soccer ball up and down as he lay on his bed, he was bored. He snorted softly, he worked for the government, on the kind of projects most people never even guessed existed, and he was bored. Not even his hidden agenda, protecting the Ranger Identities, could excite him right now. Justin Stewart officially qualified as a burn-out at the age of 19. He'd graduated from high school at age 13, finished college last year, and a year into the government work, he was bored.

His phone rang. "Hello, Stewart residence," Justin said.

"Justin Stewart?" A male voice said.

"Yes it is; who is this?" Justin asked.

"My name is Cameron Watanabe. I'm looking for a pair of your old friends, TJ Johnson and Carlos Vargas. There's evidence to support the belief that they are in serious trouble and I was hoping you would be willing to talk."

"Cameron Watanabe," Justin mused, "from Blue Bay Harbor, and a friend of Tommy Oliver?"

"Yes," Cameron replied.

"Where do you need me?"

"In Blue Bay, if possible," Cameron said.

"I can be there in an hour," Justin replied, "How can I reach you?"

"Go to the Motel 8, there's only one. Carter Grayson from Lightspeed will meet you there. There will probably be several of his associates there as well."

"Will I need my Key?" Justin asked.

Cameron paused, "Yes, you might want to bring it. Be careful, Justin. I don't want to explain to Dr. Oliver about how I let his favorite protégé get hurt."

"No worries," Justin assured him. They hung up and he rolled off the bed and hurried to get dressed. Then he bounded down stairs and out side, where his car was waiting. The Jeep in the driveway looked like an average blue auto, until Justin leapt inside. "Blue Bay Harbor, Motel 8, Storm Blaster," Justin said, "as fast as possible; TJ and Carlos are in trouble."

Storm Blaster revved up and skillfully backed up and took off down the street. Justin didn't bother with much beyond a pretense of driving, the alien vehicle was often better than a GPS system for getting places all on it's own. He just checked his seatbelt and leaned back against the seat as Storm Blaster revved up into hyper mode. Soon, they were cruising down the streets of Blue Bay Harbor, and Justin shuddered when he saw the ocean. It would be a while before he could swim out there without worrying that a giant mechanical shark was going to snatch him and drag him away. Of course, he had to forgive Tommy, he'd not thought to let his friends know about his trip to Key West and he'd left his cell phone behind because he hadn't wanted work to drag him back early. The lecture delivered from Tommy had cured that habit, but he still wasn't ready to go swimming again. 'Sharky' was a Zord and all, but still, he'd always been afraid of Jaws, and Sharky grabbing him had not been a fun moment.

He was pulled out of his reverie by his seatbelt popping off and the door opening. He looked up and saw a man waiting near the hood of the car. He jumped out, "Carter Grayson?" He asked.

"I'm afraid not, Justin," the man replied. "My name is Blake Bradley. Tell my brother that the Night Stars must be found, and quickly. I'm ok, but I can't help right now, but when the time comes, so will I." A blue aura surrounded him, and then he was gone.

Justin shook his head, "Why does the weird stuff only happen to me," he muttered, heading for the doors to the motel.

A large group of people came out the doors just then, talking about breakfast. Justin checked his watch, it had automatically reset from one pm to nine am and he sighed. One of the men stopped and looked at him curiously, "Justin Stewart?" He asked.

"Who's asking?" Justin retorted.

"I'm Carter Grayson." The man said, "I didn't expect you for another hour, at least."

Justin shrugged, "I could leave and come back."

"Not necessary," Carter said. "Look, let me give you proof that I am who I say I am." He pulled out his wallet and flipped it open. When Justin stepped forward to look at it, he also saw Carter's morpher.

Justin nodded, then reached up to scratch his arm, letting his sleeve pull back to show his own morpher, "So, breakfast, huh? Room for one more?" Storm Blaster revved softly, and Justin glanced back, "Actually, Storm Blaster and I can take a few." The others looked from him to the car he leaned against and back, confused, "Storm Blaster is an ally," he said, dropping his voice slightly, "We've been friends since I was a Ranger and he helps out sometimes, especially on the Ranger-related stuff."

A dark haired man in a light gray t-shirt, followed by a guy in a trench coat, stepped up, "We'll ride with you. I am Merric, and this is Zen Aku."

Justin took a second look at the trench coat guy and saw his wolf features for a bare moment before they shifted to look human. "Fine by me, but I get to sit behind the wheel."

"Follow us, ok?" Carter said, "We've been promised breakfast by a very good cook."

"Got it," Justin said, he strolled back around Storm Blaster and hopped in when the door opened for him. "You don't mind giving them a ride, do you?" He murmured to his friend. Storm Blaster popped open the passenger door and Justin grinned. "Thanks, man."

Merric and Zen Aku climbed in and Storm Blaster easily backed out after the others. Justin rested a single hand on the wheel and leaned back, "So what, exactly, is going on?" He asked, glancing at Merric.

"Should you not be watching the road?" Merric asked.

Justin grinned, "Nope, Storm Blaster drives himself. I mean, sometimes in battles, I get to take the wheel, but usually, he does the driving when we're doing stuff. I just pretend to drive."

"You make him nervous," Zen Aku observed.

"Just relax," Justin said, "Storm Blaster's fully sentient. Now, what the hell is wrong with TJ and Carlos? Where are Andros and the others? Who are all of you people and why isn't Tommy here?

"Tommy has chosen not to be present," Merric said, "with Mesogog's defeat, he wishes to enjoy peace and quiet. We are the teammates of the Rangers who went missing with TJ and Carlos. We have been unable to contact the Astro Rangers, although Tommy is most certainly trying for us. As for what is wrong with the Rangers," Merric sighed, "They have been seized by an evil force and turned. Who has them, and why, we do not know. We do know that Rangers such as me, who have served the Darkness, are in danger. We have five days to figure this out before our surrender is expected."

"Five days," Justin said, "no clues, and no ship, or cohesive powers? Damn. Sounds worse than when they went into space. At least then we had a destination and a ship." He tapped his fingers on Storm Blaster's wheel, "I don't know why the Megaship won't answer, but I do know that Karone and Ashley are on Mirinoi visiting the Galaxy Rangers, and Cassie's on Eltare with Re- uh, Phantom Ranger." His mind spun, "Phantom might know something, if it's space related, if not, we've got the Mystic Mother, Princess Shayla, and even Dimitria if we need her. Might even dig up a few other experts on old Earth enemies, or get Tommy to tap the Command Center computers for anything." He glanced behind him, "Look in the back, please, and tell me how many laptops are back there, and if there's a black one."

Zen Aku turned to look, "There are seven," he announced, "including a black one, five blues and a silver one."

"Good," Justin said, "I thought I left them there after the trip up to Serpenterra last month."

"Serpenterra," Merric repeated.

"Yeah, I'm salvaging it, since nobody else wants the remains. Even without the nutronic reactors and plasma core, there's some interesting machinery. The black laptop's built from the remains, and it's far more advanced than anything you'd see on Earth right now. The silver one is my up-link to the databanks in the lower Command Chamber. It'll come in handy too." Justin replied as they parked. Because the driveway of the house was full, they parked neatly at the curb. While Merric and Zen Aku climbed out, he scrambled over the seat and tucked the silver, black and a blue laptop into his backpack. Then he went over the side of Storm Blaster and patted the machine affectionately. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he told the vehicle softly, "Please try not to get caught acting uncarlike."

Mountain Blaster beeped at him softly and Justin grinned before turning to head inside and find out just what was going on. There had to be more than what Merric had said.


	9. Meeting

A/N: Ok, Plot Twist time. Hope you like. It really explains why I had a messed up Justin, because I kept getting way too ooc.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

* * *

Justin grunted as he followed the others into the two-story house, and then he had to bite his tongue, it looked like Better Homes and Gardens had dropped in and decorated. Great, either there was a girl living here, or a couple of gays. It would be his luck, that's for sure. Not that Justin had anything against homosexuality; he'd been having some troubles in that direction lately, and a bad break-up because of it. A young man came out of a room further down the hall, "Justin," Carter said, "this is Shane, Shane; this is Justin, blue Turbo. Justin, Shane was the Red Wind Ranger." Three other men had followed Shane, but hovered in the doorway.

Justin nodded, "Got it," he added a grin, "I've had you on my list for over a year now, but now that I've got a face, I'll make double sure."

"Huh?" Shane asked.

"I work for the government," Justin shrugged, "officially? I'm R&D type stuff, unofficially; I keep them from getting a hold of Ranger Identities unless the Rangers want people to know who they are. I've been working there for a little over a year, and I had to play merry hell with the computers when I got there to keep your Academies unnoticed." He shrugged, "Of course, it would be so much more convenient for me if people would send me memos, say, two weeks in advance, with colors, Power source and home town. Then I can start keeping an eye on the data streams in advance for shit." Seeing even more people eyeing him, he laughed nervously, "Sorry, I'm joking. Tommy's team was worse; he kept _adding_ people and forgetting to tell me about them." Again, blank looks, Justin sighed, "Sorry, I've been cooped up in an eight by eight for far too long, apparently. Let's change the subject, as in, who the hell are all of you beyond Power Rangers, and what the hell happened to TJ and Carlos?"

"Shane Clark," Shane said easily, "Former Red Wind Ranger, Teacher at the Wind Ninja Academy, Air Ninja."

"Dustin Brooks," said a dark haired young man who appeared at Shane's shoulder, "Former Yellow Wind Ranger, Teacher at the Wind Ninja Academy, Earth Ninja. Want some breakfast?"

"Not particularly, but thanks," Justin replied, "I came over from DC."

"That's not possible," said an Asian man, "there's no way that's possible. You were called less than half an hour ago."

Justin grinned, "I'll introduce you to Storm Blaster later. He's an alien that likes the form of a car: he's fully sentient, capable of hyper speed and space travel, seats five. I didn't have that much to pack, so I just headed straight over."

"Well, I'm Cameron Watanabe, Green Samurai Ranger, former of course. Teacher and tech support at the Wind Academy, Samurai." The Asian said, pushing his glasses up one handed.

"I'm Hunter Bradley," added the last member, a blond with an attitude, "Crimson Thunder Ranger, Head Teacher, Thunder Academy, and Lightning Ninja."

"You have a brother named Blake," Justin said, something clicking in his mind.

"Yeah," Hunter said, clearly unnerved.

"I have a message for you, from him," Justin said, "he said to tell you this: 'Tell my brother that the Night Stars must be found, and quickly. I'm ok, but I can't help right now, but when the time comes, so will I.' He disappeared after he said that, from the aura and manner of disappearance, I'd put it down to a projection and not an actual teleportation."

"Are you sure it was Blake?" Hunter demanded.

"Blake was the Navy Thunder, right?" Justin asked, pulling his key from his back pocket.

"Right," Hunter said.

Justin tossed the key lightly in the air and caught it, "Then it was him. The Blue Power wasn't as strong as it is in an active Ranger, but there was no mistaking the surge. I've held an active morpher since before puberty, the Power is as much a part of me as my hair and eyes, and it works a little differently for me than it does for others. I can sense Power in others, former Rangers for the most part, and what color they hold. It's strongest and most accurate with blues." He shrugged, "It's just part of who I am now, although I don't like to talk about what I can do, like Kim or Jason and Muranthias." At the looks he spoke quickly, "So you are the Ninja Storm Rangers, right, besides Blake, who is missing?"

"Tori," Hunter said finally, "the Blue Wind Ninja. She was taken by the same being that holds TJ and Carlos."

Justin nodded and turned to Carter, "And your team, Carter?"

"I'm Kelsey, Kelsey Winslow," said the girl in yellow, grinning; "Yellow Lightspeed Ranger."

"Joel Rawlings, Sky Cowboy, Green Lightspeed Ranger," said the black man to her right.

"Chad Lee, Blue Lightspeed Ranger," said the Asian man to her left, and Justin flashed his fellow Blue a grin.

"Dana Mitchell-Grayson," said the final member of the quartet behind Carter, "Pink Lightspeed Ranger and MD."

Justin nodded, "Good, I hope we only need you as the first and not the second."

"You and me both," Dana replied with a polite smile.

"Missing from our group is Ryan Mitchell, Dana's brother and the Titanium Ranger, he's with TJ and the others," Carter finished.

"The Silver, right," Justin nodded. At the look from Carter, he grinned, "I focus on _color_ not _title._ Ryan's a Silver, even if he was called Titanium. Zane wasn't too happy about that, said that Silver's special enough, nobody should have to go and have a fancy title with it. Andros told Zane to shut up because he was just jealous."

Carter laughed, "I can see Andros saying that," he agreed.

"I'm Wesley Collins, Red Time Force, call me Wes. My partner, Eric Myers, is another of the missing," said the only one wearing a uniform.

"Red, called Quantum, right," Justin said.

"Yes," Wes nodded.

"We're Wild Force," said the third, red-clad man, "I'm Cole Evans, Red Ranger."

"Max Cooper, Blue," said the black man behind him.

"Danny Delgado, Black," said the man to his left.

"Taylor Earheart, Yellow," said the only girl, "Eric is my fiancé as well."

"Oh, double blow," Justin muttered.

"You know Zen Aku and me," Merric said, "I am the Silver Wild Force Ranger."

Justin nodded, "Of course, Merric."

"Our missing member is Alyssa Enrile, White Wild Force Ranger," Cole added.

Justin sighed, "I'm Justin Stewart, Blue Turbo Ranger, active, ally of Storm Blaster, government agent, Mensa member, and honorary member of the Eltarean scholastic society; inventor, computer expert and martial artist." He glanced around, "Can I get a look at what you got, please? I need information if I'm going to help, and if I know what's what, I can get in easy contact with some of the Astro Rangers."

"Come in here," Carter gestured, "I'll show you what we've got."

"I'll have breakfast ready for those who want it," Dustin added.

Cam followed Justin into a living room, there were papers spread over a coffee table. Justin sat down there and began to look at the papers quietly. "There's a memory stick as well," Cam added, "I haven't gotten past the password on it."

"How'd you get that?" Justin asked.

"Alyssa left it for us." Cam replied, he produced it quickly and offered it to Justin. "You should know, we think they've been turned evil."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Justin replied. He pulled his black laptop from his backpack and fitted the memory stick into the USB port. "Now then, let's see what nasty little secrets you hold." He said, flipping the laptop open.

"Be careful with that," Cam said, "it may have a virus on it."

"This laptop is a virus," Justin retorted dryly. He type in a few commands and the password prompt came up. "What was Alyssa's morphing call?" He asked.

"Wild Access," Merric replied.

"All of you said that," Carter objected.

"Noble Tiger," Cole said, "that's her designation."

Justin nodded and typed it in, and got an error message. "All right, Cole, what's yours?"

"Blazing lion, why?" Cole replied.

Justin grinned and typed that in, a password accepted message appeared on the screen. "She likes you Cole. Ask her out." Justin replied, an answer that was as confusing as the question had been in the first place.

A sudden pounding on the door made everyone jump, then rush for the door. Shane opened it and Justin stormed in. Spotting his double in the living room he announced, "I'm going to dismantle you, Christian."

"You say that all the time."

"Yeah well, a _note_ is not the way to tell me these things. I know I reviewed proper procedure with you on emergencies. You're supposed to _call_ me with a message. Not take off on your own."

"What, what the hell?" Shane said, looking between the pair.

Justin flipped out his key, "Shift into Turbo, Mountain Blaster Turbo Power." He popped his helmet off. "I'm the real Justin Christian Stewart. That's Christian, he's my robot ranger. I reactivated him to help with some work I was doing on the side for Tommy, so I could be in two places at once. Christian's not evil, just very annoying. Power Down." Standing in a suite Justin lifted a strange looking remote. "I'm going to reprogram you later," he promised the robot and pushed a button. Christian stiffened, his eyes closing. "I'm really sorry about this, truly."


	10. Real Justin

A/N: I keep trying to make Justin sound like my old history prof. Hope you're not too bored when he gets in his little lecture.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Disney except some DVDs and action figures, sorry.

* * *

Justin stood quietly in the entry way, knowing that he would have to do a lot of explaining, fast. "Ok," he said, "listen to me, then attack. I really am Justin, and I do have a robot twin. Zordon created them a long time ago. I was over here on the Coast visiting Tommy and heard about the trouble from him. I contacted Christian, or tried to, and got his voice mail about being here. I came down, tracked him and disarmed him because he's annoying as hell when he gets it in his mind that I need a vacation. I don't fight for the Star Master, nor am I under a spell." He spread his hands slightly, "I just want to help, because TJ and Carlos were my teammates, and I owe it to them. I'm sorry if Christian said or did anything that offended any of you, but for all that he feigns the emotions of a human, he lacks the true emotional input of humans." Realizing that the door was just behind him, he started to back up, carefully.

"So your robot double showed up here because he thought you need a vacation?" Asked the green clad man who had been sitting beside Christian.

"Pretty much," Justin shrugged. "He's good at what he does, but he's annoying the rest of the time."

"I can understand that," he said, "I'm Cam Watanabe, Green Samurai." The man walked over, "I have a cybernetic double, CyberCam. He can be a headache too."

"Do you use a full holographic display or AI style, computer screen only?" Justin asked.

"Full holographic," Cam replied. "He's useful when I don't want to do anything but work, or when I want to socialize and don't want to stop what I'm doing; although those who know us both can tell us apart by our attitudes."

Justin nodded, "Yeah, Christian and I are the same. He has his uses, but they are limited." He paused, "I'd love to get a look at the programs you use." Looking at Cam, he saw someone who actually knew about modern computers, unlike Billy, who was undeniably a genus, but had spent a great many years off planet and didn't understand common Earth technology now. "Tommy was saying you did all the programming for the Ninja Storm team?"

"Yes," Cam said, "I did, and I handle all technological problems at the campus still."

"What kind of set up do you have?" Justin asked, eagerly.

"Can we talk computers later?" Carter interrupted, "We have missing teammates to find."

"Did it ever occur to you that the computer may be useful to our search?" Justin asked, "I'm asking in part because I really don't want to spend two hours in the car to contact Mirinoi and Eltare to track down the Astro Rangers. If Cam's got the capability to get to the comm. link on the other side of Jupiter then it'll save a lot of driving time. Besides, if this is more of that Star Master interference, then I want a live up-link with the Moon-Computers and Eltare and my laptops don't have that power. If we were in Colorado, well, beggars can't be choosers."

"You know the Star Master?" Cole said.

"I know of it," Justin corrected. "Mind if I sit down, please? I'll tell you what I know." He sniffed, "Is something burning?"

"The waffles!" Cried a young man at the other end of the entryway; he vanished into the door behind him with a speed similar to Conner when chocolate was mentioned.

"Come in here," Said one of the red-clad men. He gestured into the room away from Christian. "I'm Shane Clark; the waffle-guy is Dustin, my roommate. I was the Red Wind Ranger, and he was Yellow."

Justin smiled, "Thanks. I'm familiar, if not known to, all the others."

Carter grinned, "Angela still hasn't recovered from your visit, I think."

Justin shrugged, "Like I said, they were using hydraulics in the wrong place. Bigger wasn't the key, it was placement."

"Well, in the interest of catching you up," Wes said, "these are the Wild Force Rangers, Cole, Taylor, Max, Danny and Merric. Merric's partner is Zen Aku."

"I'm Hunter," added the last of the red clad men. "Crimson Thunder; my brother, Blake, is the Navy Thunder Ranger, but he's not here."

Justin nodded, "He's with Marah and Kapri on the Eagle."

"You know where he is?" Hunter asked.

"No," Justin shook his head. "The last we heard from Andros and Zhane was that they were going to Onyx, and they hadn't heard from them yet. Then the Megaship stopped transmitting about a week ago, Tommy and I were talking about contacting Aquitar about a shuttle or teleportation, but then you guys called. Tommy's not eager to get involved, but if we need him, he will. I mean, he's got to deal with the whole withdrawal thing again. I mean, getting the Power back for a few days and losing it left you tired and achy, like you had a cold, right?" Shane and Hunter nodded, "Well, Tommy's been in and out of the Power since he was fourteen. He's sensitive to it on a level no one else is. He's leaving for a month's vacation in a week, as soon as he's got the contractor engaged on repairing his basement, and he'll sleep most of it. His body is not adjusted to being unPowered, and the energy he used to destroy Mesogog has put him on an energy low equivalent to his first loss of Power. Thing is, he's not a teenager anymore, and his body is starting to cash in on all the damage he took back then. He needs to rest, and let the Power levels grow again. I don't think he could even summon the Zeo 5 powers right now. I mean, _I'm_ sensitive because I've held the Power for years; it was there before puberty, but not like Tommy's Power. Tommy is a Green-White-Red-Black Power Point, and we're not sure he's done yet. I'm just a Blue-Green mesh, and I've never been Powered as a Green, so even I can't say, exactly, what he's experiencing. Especially with the way that nearly every Power he's used has been stripped from him. There's _nobody in the universe_ like Tommy, so we don't know what he's going through physically, beyond what our sensors can detect. Except this," Justin's face was amused, "be careful about visiting, announced or unannounced. The Dino Gem left a DNA imprint on him. He can still turn invisible, and he's not afraid to use it."

Chad glanced at the others, "As in, he's a prankster?"

"Tommy and Trent, the White Dino Thunder with the power of a Chameleon, are involved in a prank war." Justin said, "The last time things in Reefside were that interesting was during Tommy's stint as the 'invisible' Ranger."

"Invisible?" Danny repeated.

"Remember, this is Tommy," Justin said, "He kind of got trapped in amber while Trent was evil. Then he couldn't demorph, until they found this slime, but it turned him invisible. They broke that spell, but damaged the Gem in the process. Tommy was sent into a coma, and then woke up and the Gem was fixed. Nobody knows what happened but him, and Tommy won't talk about it."

"What is it with him?" Carter asked, "I mean, Jason said he was trouble prone."

"This is Tommy," Justin repeated, "he's a walking bad luck charm, between his memory, his sense of time and his primary Power as a Green Ranger, you were expecting him to be normal?"

"What are you saying about Green?" Cam asked.

"Yeah, what's wrong with Green?" Joel demanded.

Justin smiled tightly, "Greens are strong Rangers, solid fighters and good at Famous Last Stands. Thing is, when they aren't in desperate fights to the death, the Power affects them differently than most. Reds are passionate leaders; that passion comes into play with every aspect of their life. Blues are intelligent, they may not be genius level, but they can be counted on to handle any thing that comes at them. Yellows are Healers; they are the most skilled at building the bridges between teammates. Pink Rangers are the Heart, although they aren't as necessary as Yellows, having a Pink Ranger on a team gives it a distinct impression. Blacks are, well, a lot of things, I haven't exactly studied a Black Ranger because I haven't fought with one, but based on Adam and Tommy, I'd say that they're assassins, spies, and things of that nature." He noted Danny's slightly indignant, yet thoughtful look. "Greens attract trouble, because the Power resounds in them like a beacon, proclaiming their strength of character, depth of soul and fighting abilities." He paused, "Sorry, I spent a year on Eltare after high school. They have a Ranger Academy and I was permitted to attend some lectures. It's rather fascinating to see how the colors interact and react to each other. Now then," he settled on an overstuffed chair, "The Star Master, well, I don't know much, but I can promise you, what I know is not good."

People began to settle in the room and Justin took a brief moment to study it. It was a room made for conversation, with some comfortable couches and chairs settled around a low, round table, and coffee tables were placed between some of the chairs. "Before we get started," Dustin said, appearing in the door, "Can I borrow Shane and Hunter for a sec? Breakfast will be up in a minute."

Hunter and Shane stood from their place on a couch and picked their way across the room and into the kitchen after Dustin. "What are you going to do with Christian?" Cam asked.

Justin shrugged, "Leave him turned off, for now. I'll go over his programming again later. He's sentient, but there are limits on his actions, programming that acts as morals. It's hard to work them right, and still give him freedom of choice. He's like a child, and I'm trying to instill good morals and habits. I just do it differently than a parent would."

"All right," Dustin said, he came into the room carrying a large tray, "Let's eat, and then we can talk about this Star Master dude. I made enough, Justin; you can have some if you're hungry."

"Thank you, Dustin," Justin said, "I think I just might."


	11. Information

A/N: And again, Justin comes out sounding like my high school history teacher, but this is the last time, I swear! Go me, I wrote this all in one day! I hope to have a bit more out tomorrow, but I've got other things to do. POV wanders a bit, I'm trying to get into Cam's mind, but I'm not analytical like him, but I can do sarcastic when I need to.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

Cam had often wondered what life had been like for the Rangers from Dr Oliver's teenage years, having heard stories and seen pictures, he sometimes wondered if they had actually operated on barely controlled chaos often. Seeing Justin Stewart and his calm acceptance of an out of control robot twin told him that the truth behind Dr Oliver's stories wasn't far from his private theory. Clearly, Justin had been through more than enough trouble before coming into adulthood. His mind was deep, flexible and filled with ideas gained from journeying beyond the solar system, his body was highly toned, flexible and graceful, he had a spirit that burned out of him that spoke of joy and pain, love and hate, as if he'd been through a war. In fact, Cam knew that he had. 

Just now, however, Justin looked like an ordinary kid, he was lounging back, having put away more waffles than Danny and Dustin combined. He was laughing at some story that Cole was telling, as if there wasn't a care in the world. Finally, Dustin and Shane cleared out the food and people became serious. Justin stood, "I said I visited Eltare," he said, "the truth is, I was summoned there. Zordon left explicit instructions and on Eltare, Zordon's wishes are as law. Zordon knew that we would be in danger from the Star Master should he ever die, because Zordon's presence kept the balance from being tipped so far that the Star Master's prophecy could come to pass. He's given you the prophecy, so I won't have to tell you that. We'll move into who the Star Master is."

Justin took a sip of water and glanced around, "The Star Master is the heart of every nightmare, the dark of every star. He is the greatest force of evil ever fought by Rangers, and he can only be restrained by great sacrifice. When Rita sealed Zordon into his Time Warp, it was such a sacrifice, and drove back the Star Master from helping his minions in the UAE. Zordon's Wave has kept the Star Master back, but he's used that time to study and select six Rangers to serve him. The Star Master chose Earth Humans for a reason, the same one Zordon had. Earth Humans have the Earth-Luck; we don't know anything, so we can do the impossible. No other species, no matter how undeveloped, can summon up our ability to do the impossible. By all accounts, ten thousand Quantrons attacked Earth, and six Rangers held them off. Impossible odds and the Rangers _won._ They were holding the Quantrons off, and even if Andros hadn't broken the Time Warp, we others were close enough; we would have been able to help. No other planet in the Universe was attacked by so many numbers, and they all fell to Dark Specter.

"Earth Rangers squared off against a creature so virile, its early defeat came only through the turning of its own dark power. They did so without the Power beyond what is a part of all of us, and they not only won, but the Morphin' Grid recreated its link to them. No other people have been able to pull that off." Justin gave Cole and the Wild Force Rangers a look. "Earth has had more Rangers in the past decade than most worlds have in a century. Earth is home to the Universe's strongest ranger, Tommy Oliver, and its strongest team, the Ninja Storm team."

"What?" Shane interrupted.

"Two Reds," Justin replied, "Two Blues, a Yellow and a Green. A triad, a pair and a solo, it's never been done. You all saw Lothor through the monsters he sent against you. On the Galactic level, Lothor was seen as the greatest chance for the UAE to revive in full. Believe me, the evil we all fought? Especially the ones that came from outer space are a lot more dangerous than we knew. We saw them as stupid, the truth? Earth has fought the strongest Evil in the Universe outside the Star Master, and we're still here, still free. That's because we know we can win. Rangers from Earth can't even die properly. I mean, look at the Galaxy Rangers. Mike falls into a crack in the earth, isn't seen for at least a month, if not longer, then returns unharmed. Kendrix gets blasted by an overload of Morphin' Energy, but comes back when they put the swords in the stone on Mirinoi. Hell, not even Alex really died." A look at Wes, who nodded in understanding; Cam wondered what the story was there, he'd not heard it.

"Zordon's Rangers proved themselves against the worst the galaxy had to offer," Justin said, "it's time now for you to take your chance. I'll help you in any way I can, but I won't lead you. I'll tell you what you need, but I won't give it to you. You became Earth's protectors for a reason, now you need to show the Galaxy that reason."

"So," Carter, Cole, Wes, Shane and Hunter said in unison.

Everyone laughed as the five Red Rangers looked at each other in horror. Justin shook his head, "Let me tell you about the Star Master. He's dangerous, powerful, and evil. Not the best combination, especially when you add in smart. He's been around for a long time, but when there are mentors like Zordon, his access to the Dark is severely weakened. Right now, the strongest mentor on Earth is the Princess Shayla, but she doesn't make as strong a ripple as even the Alpha robots made. Eltare is training a few, and there are rumors of others, but Dark Specter left us his legacy of next to no powerful mentors. He captured them, drained them and left them to die every chance he got. Now the Star Master is rising into ascension and he's chosen his Children. Those are Carlos, TJ, Ryan, Eric, Tori and Alyssa. Now, here's something odd," Justin said, "I've seen two versions of the lines after listing the Rangers. 'A meeting of Rangers, Written in the Stars' could either be the Star Children, or it could be us."

"Time's ending, life's beginning," quoted Wes. "If you're looking at it being us, I'm going to die."

"Not necessarily," Justin countered, "Endings don't always mean death. Life's beginning could very well mean that you retire from being an active Ranger, and have kids." He sighed, "We'll figure it out as we come to it, that's how prophecy works. The Book of Stars, however, is our concern. Blake, Mara and Kapri had a lock on it when they took the _Free Spirit_ into the Dahl Territories. I don't know what they dared the Dark Triangle at all, but if they thought the Book, or a clue was there, they wouldn't have stopped for anything. That Book is a powerful force, and it could be our saving."

"How are we going to do this?" Cole asked, "What are we going to do?"

Justin watched them and sat down; it would be their choice on where to go. He couldn't decide their plan of action; then it would be Zordon's Ranger leading the newbies by the hand. They would fall on their own, or reach for the stars. Suddenly, in perfect timing, his cell began to ring with the ever popular, ultimately annoying 'Mission Impossible' theme. Justin jerked out of his seat as it vibrated and he hurried into the hall as he checked his id screen. It was Tommy.


	12. Strategy Part One

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this out. I've had a nasty bit of a virus. I've had this mostly written, I just had to add an end for the chapter. Also, something gets explained, and some questions are raised. Yes, this is a partial tie in to the Brotherly Love series, mostly because there are some good ideas in the other series.

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, if you recognize it, it's Disney/whomever's, if you don't, I wrote it...

* * *

The Rangers were still talking when Justin came back into the room, phone in one hand, a laptop in the other. "All right," he said, eyes passing over each of them. "I have a problem I need to take care of. I have to leave. Christian is coming with me; Storm Blaster's going to stay to provide an extra ride. Tommy is begging you guys to keep Conner down here, supposedly to help if there's an emergency, but I distinctly heard Kira say, 'if you break one more lamp, I'm going to disembowel you.' So he's probably fighting with Ethan or Trent. I recommend letting one of the Dino Thunders come down, because until I can get back, they're the only ones who can quickly access an off-planet comm. system." He offered the laptop to Cam, "This has more information on the Star Master, including a lot of legends, myths and speculations. Those are properly marked. Password is Armor Up, Silver Atlantis. If you hit any other passwords, don't try to break them, some of its work related and some of its life related, and all of it is personal. I'll be back soon, I'm sure."

"What's going on?" Carter asked, stunned.

"I can't say," Justin replied, "it's worth more than my life to tell you. I have to go. Chris, you're driving." Justin practically ran out of the house, with the robot right behind him.

"Well," Cam said, opening the laptop, "let's see what we've got."

Shane's watch beeped, "Aw man," he said, "I've got class."

Dustin nodded, "We both do," he stood up, eyes going to Cam and Hunter. Cam raised his hands, "It's my day off. I'm good for staying."

Hunter grinned, "I'm on a long vacation. I'm here until this is over."

Shane and Dustin stood up, "We'll see you guys in a few hours," Shane said, "unless we can get our classes covered before then. Call us if it's an emergency." He lifted his hand to show them the powerless morpher.

"We will," Cam said, "have fun at class." The slightly malicious look on his face made Shane grin.

"Conner and Eric had to go home," Shane said, "their grandmother passed away. No explosions today." He left, followed by Dustin.

"So," Wes said, leaning slightly forward, "inquiring minds want to know."

"Conner, last week, somehow managed to make air explode. We're not exactly sure what he did, but Shane was overheard saying, '_he_ was the _Red_ Ranger?'" Cam explained as he looked at the laptop. Deftly he put in the password, "Now, let's see what we've got."

Hunter was leaning over to look when his phone rang. He answered it quickly, "Hunter Bradley speaking." Hunter listened, and his entire face lit up, "Derrick, hey, what's up?" Hunter paused, nodding and making interested noises. "Look, I can't go. I've got a work related emergency. I know, I used that excuse last week, but this one is so important, I can't leave." Hunter paused again. "Yes," his tone was sarcastic as his eyes fastened on Cam's face. "I'm here with my ex and we're about to have wild passionate sex, that's it. That's exactly it." He jumped and regarded the phone, "He hung up on me! How rude."

"Wild, passionate sex," Cam repeated.

"He's paranoid," Hunter replied, "he doesn't like that I have work related emergencies when you're around. He thinks we're sleeping together."

"We only went on one date."

"And there was that fire."

"The ferret."

"The money from Mr. Hartford," Hunter finished, "Ah, good times."

"You two dated?" Chad said.

Hunter and Cam sighed, "We went on one date," Hunter replied. "It was a complete and utter disaster. This rich business man and his son were there and the kid had a ferret in his backpack, which escaped, and caused a rather large fire. Since I rescued the kid's ferret, his dad, Andrew Hartford, covered our meal at the steak house, and gave us money for the place we wound up going to eat. We agreed that us together is not our future."

Cam glanced up from his laptop, "I'm bisexual, for the record. Hunter's the one who gay."

"Says the man who had to check out my ass before he could dismiss it," Hunter muttered.

Cam sighed, and then straightened up, "I got something here, 'the Night Stars'. Isn't that what Jus, uh, Christian said Blake said we should find."

"Yes," Hunter said.

Cam typed at the machine for a few moments, and then stopped, his eyes focused on the screen. "All right, it says that there are two Powers linked to the Star Master. The Day Stars are evil, and those are what Tori and the others are seeking. At least, that's what Shane told me." There were nods, "What we want are the Night Stars. They are the antithesis of the Day Stars in power. There's a catch, though. Whoever takes the Power, well, they'll be a team, and they'll have to leave their old teams behind, for good. The Power can be passed, but it's not an easy proposition if passed before it's time."

"So we're talking about a new team, then?" Merric asked.

"No," Cam shook his head as he kept reading, "The Night Stars can only be used by Rangers, but because of their, uh, properties, it's hard to get a team accepted. It's why the Star Children, uh, Tori and the others, are from different teams."

"So we have to build a team out of ourselves," Carter asked, looking around the room.

"Basically, yes," Cam said. "It's an alliance, though, rather than a team. I believe that, like the Star Children, we'll have one or two from each team."

"Well then, I am not part of this," Zen Aku said quietly. "I have never been a ranger."

"Yes, and I'd like to know just why you are here," Chad said, "I was under the impression that you were evil?"

Zen Aku and Merric exchanged a glance, "Well," Merric said, "he used to be. Zen Aku is reformed."

"Reformed?" Kelsey said.

"Yes," Zen Aku said, "I am not, nor am I ever likely to be, truly considered a creature of the Light, but I no longer serve the Dark. Merric and I are linked, because he is the one who freed me from my own curse. As I am a Shadow creature, I have had an evolution of Power, from the Dark Power of a Duke Org into, well, that of a Bard. Bards work Magic through Music and can be Dark, Light or Shadow. We chose who we work for, or with. In the days of Animaria, I would have formally declared Merric my Liege, to show that I may be born of Dark and live in Shadow; I will no longer fight against the Light. I am here because I do have knowledge of the Dark, and I have done some work with Andros since being freed."

"You worked with Andros?" Cam asked.

"We both did," Merric said. "We don't do much off planet, but we have proven useful, especially since nobody truly understands what side Zen Aku is. As a Shadow, he can play both sides off the other, but since we have done a Ceremony of Service before Princess Shayla, we can trust Zen Aku."

"So this isn't about you two sharing a bed?" Joel asked cruelly.

There were gasps amongst the Wild Force Rangers, and then Cole body slammed Joel into the back of his chair, knocking the armchair back as his fist connected with Joel's face a few times.


	13. Instinct

A/N: Well, here's Joel's side. I really wasn't expecting it, but hey...bonus points for Angela meantioning (right? Right?)

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, nor do I derive anything but warm fuzzies from this story. (And I only get those because people review!)

* * *

It took a few minutes for the sight of Cole, laid back Cole, pounding away at Joel to sink in, but as soon as it did, people leapt to action. Hunter and Danny grabbed Cole and pulled him back while Carter and Chad hauled Joel up and hustled him into the kitchen and out into the back yard. A glare from Carter sent Chad back inside while Carter braced himself to deal with Joel. "What in the name of the Power do you think you were doing?" He demanded, "We have to work with these people if we're going to rescue Ryan!"

Joel wiped his lip, which was split and bleeding, but he didn't say anything for a long moment, then, "Shit," he growled, "I blew it, didn't I? Don't say anything Carter." He turned away, "Of all the stupid shit…"

"What's going on, Joel?" Carter demanded, he kept a stern façade on his face, because Joel sounding like he had a bad cold was a bit amusing.

"Just…just a lot of stuff, and I don't trust that Zen Aku guy. He gives me bad vibes." Joel said. Carter leaned against the side of the house and watched Joel. Ryan had told him once that he thought Joel knew more than he was saying, especially about his ability to read people. Mitchell had agreed, so Carter listened to Joel. "I just, I get this feeling that there's more to Merric and Zen Aku than they're admitting. Beyond the obvious, I mean. Although I want to trust Merric, because he _is_ a Ranger, I can't, because of Zen Aku. Something about that guy… I don't think they're on the up and up, Carter. They know something, or suspect something, that they don't want to tell us. Don't ask me what got into Cole, but, I guess you'd do that for Dana or Kelsey."

Carter heard it, and pounced, "If the situation warranted, Joel, you know I'd punch the hell out of anybody for you, Chad and the girls. Ryan would hit me if I tried, so I won't, but that's part of what I- we- do. We defend each other."

"Great," Joel said, "You got any Kleenex? My nose won't stop bleeding."

Carter pulled a bandanna from his back pocket, "Try this, and tilt your head back. Can you work with them? Just for now, I mean. I think we're going to wind up splitting up in the next few days, and then you won't be working with them."

Joel held the cloth to his nose, "Yeah, I'll try to keep my hostilities to a minimum, but that doesn't mean that someone like Cole won't still try to kill me."

"I'll handle Cole," Carter said, "and Cole can keep the others down. How's Angela, by the way?"

"Pregnant and hating me," Joel grinned. "It's going to be twins, so it's like, insta-family. I don't think I've seen Angie look so beautiful, she's all glowing and mad and you know I fell for her when she was yelling at me."

Carter grinned, "I never figured you for a family man."

Joel looked at him for a moment and put his hand down. The blood started again, "Come on," he growled, throwing his head back.

Carter opened the back door, "Hey, Dana! Can you come out here, please?" He called.

His girlfriend appeared moments later, "Yeah, Carter?" She asked.

"Can you take a look at Joel's nose? It's gushing beautifully." Carter asked.

Dana's eyes narrowed, "Carter," she said.

"Dana, please," Carter said, "there's a reason for this; you know this as well as I do."

"Let me get a first aid kit," Dana said. She disappeared back inside.

Carter turned back to Joel, "Dana'll have you fixed up in no time, but I do suggest you grovel, you know you lost whatever brownie points you had with her."

Joel sighed, "I imagine I'll have to do a lot of that. I've been doing so well, to. I don't know what made me say it."

"Stress," Carter replied, "you've always been good at putting up a front, but any time you get really stressed; you just say things without meaning to."

Dana came bustling out with a first aid kit, "Let's go into the kitchen, they took Cole out front." Carter and Joel went in with her and Carter sat at the table calmly while Dana went to work. "Honestly, Joel, there are worse things you could say, but I'm afraid I can't think of any of them right now. We're trying to be allies here. Don't talk. I know you're worried about Angela, but she's _fine_, she may be in her third trimester of her first pregnancy, but she's doing very well. She'll have no problem if she continues to plan for a traditional birth, and her doctor is one of the best at cesareans in Mariner Bay. The babies are fine, they're small, but that's normal in a twin pregnancy. Your mother is recovering very well from her hiatal hernia surgery; she's out of the ICU even. Your dad, your sister and your brother are all going to be with her until you can get back."

"Merric," Joel said.

"Ah," Dana said, "I told you not to talk, Joel. Now, you know Merric's story. Carter and Tommy told us that years ago. He's been through more than we can imagine, and he's far older. I know how you are about trusting your instincts, but Merric's a _Ranger_, for God's sake, he's not evil, and he's not going to randomly attack us or something. Please stop moving, Joel. We're going to need him and Zen Aku, so you'd best figure out what it is that bothers you about him and deal with it. Honestly, I would have thought that you were going to stop doing this." She stepped back, "There, now, don't say anything around the others and I think we can fix this."

Joel just put his head on the table, "I don't think we can, Dana."

A soft noise made Carter look up as Chad and Kelsey and slipped into the kitchen, "Are you ok, Joel?" Chad asked.

Joel looked up, "Yeah, just stressed," he muttered.

"Cole really got you good," Kelsey observed, "not that you didn't deserve it. You've made some fairly insensitive remarks before, but I think this takes the cake."

"Kelsey," Carter said in his Tone, the 'you're-not-helping' one.

Joel sighed, "I just, there's something they aren't sharing; more than just the fact that they are a pair, I mean. What ever it is they're hiding, I don't think it's a fuzzy bunny."

Carter rested his hand on Joel's arm, "Just keep your mouth shut, Joel, or snipe at us. We've all heard it before."

"Yeah," Chad said, "you can do this, Joel. For Ryan." He put his hand on top of Carter's as Joel slid his hand back.

Kelsey and Dana stuck their hands onto the pile, their eyes met and then they all said, "For Ryan."


	14. Response

A/N: (and a warning) There is swearing here, and insulting...a look at the other side of the glass. Somethings may come over as AU, but that's more my choice than anything else. Sorry if the word offends you. Also got to poke a little fun at an annoying Ranger habit...warm fuzzies if you spot it. Please review, my warm fuzzies are running low.

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, I derive no profit from it.

* * *

Cole, while not exactly unresisting, did not attempt to hit anyone involved in the effort of getting him off that stupid green ranger. Taylor and Wes held him until Carter and Chad had hustled Joel out back, Kelsey and Dana following. "Come on," Taylor said, seeing Cole's need to splutter, she glanced at the ninjas, "We'll be back in a minute." 

Out the front door Cole leaned against the Silver Guardian's SUV that Wes drove, "That _stupid_, arrogant greenie," he snarled, sounding like his Red Lion, if said creature could talk. "How dare he? What gives him the right to judge _my_ team?"

"Cole," Merric said, "Zen Aku and I have taken no harm at the Green Ranger's words." He crossed his arms, "It would not be the first time that it was suggested that we were sleeping together."

Max nodded, "For some reason, people think that about Danny and me too."

"That still doesn't give him the right," snapped Cole.

Zen Aku sighed, "Cole, Joel, doesn't tell everything he knows. I think he has some Gift that he does not admit to. I sensed something in him earlier."

"Empathic?" Taylor asked.

"No, but it is, similar." Zen Aku replied. "He believes that we have not been completely honest with the group."

Merric raised an eyebrow, a slight smile playing at his lips, "Have we not?"

Cole shook his head, "It still doesn't matter," he said, "Joel's words, and the manner in which he spoke, are not acceptable."

"I think you got your point across, then," Wes offered, then gulped at Cole's rather heated glare. "Look, I'm sure Carter's going to deal with Joel. He can't ignore it. Lightspeed is the military group; Carter's going to jump in with both feet."

"If they're military, then what's Time Force?" Danny asked.

"Police," Wes replied, "both the others and Eric and I in our own way. I've worked with Joel, he can be insensitive, but only when he's really stressed. His wife's pregnant with their first child, well, children, she's having twins and his mom just had surgery. Personally, I'm just glad he's keeping his mouth shut. Joel is multi-talented; he can talk and piss you off at the same time."

Taylor snorted, "I'll say that."

"Look, I'm going to go talk with the ninjas," Wes said, "When you're calm, Cole, you guys should come back in so that we can figure out what to do." He turned and walked back into the house. Cam and Hunter had straightened up the room and were sitting before the lap top again. "Sorry about that," he said, "I'm not sure what got into either of them."

Hunter looked up, surprised, "It's ok." He said.

"Shane and Hunter have done worse," Cam added. "It's a territorial thing."

"I am not an animal," snapped Hunter.

"I didn't say you were." Cam replied mildly. "It's in the nature of Human males to be territorial. Why do you think I snap at you about my computers?"

Hunter looked as if he had never thought of this. Wes took the moment of silence to enter his own question, "What are you looking at?"

"More of the Star Master information, Justin has an incredible amount of information, even if some of it's hearsay and fairy tales, it builds an image of an incredibly powerful being. He makes Lothor sound like the Easter Bunny." Cam replied.

"Justin was right," Wes said, "you don't know much about who Lothor was."

"He was an expelled Ninja student, Earth element, who practiced the Dark Powers." Cam said, "He nearly killed my parents. He came back to Earth with two nieces-by-marriage who are exceedingly annoying and an array of incompetent monsters to get his revenge, open the Abyss of Evil and generally wreck havoc on our lives."

"He did kill Blake and my parents, and he managed to turn a pair of highly trained Ninjas to his bidding," Hunter added, his eyes dark. "He had some skill, but he wasn't evil incarnate."

Wes snorted, "You really don't know? Well, it was after the, uh, Moon Mission that Andros told us. He was very worried about this new menace named Lothor. The Warlord had already started conquering systems through alliance and treachery. He tended to avoid crowded areas, or Ranger-protected planets, but he was clearly building resources for a reason. Given that Earth is the precious gem of the local subspace, he alerted all of us Red Rangers here to be on the look out. He didn't think that Lothor would come before Master Org was finished. They like to watch the petty squabbles and then swoop in when the victorious side is recovering. We didn't give the warning much notice, I mean, Earth is, literally, the most protected planet on the Arm. Look how many Rangers we pulled together to deal with the Star Master. No other planet would be able to summon so many Rangers _with Power_. I know, I know, you drained your morphers, but still, Wild Force, Lightspeed, Eric, Justin and I, as well as the Zeo Rangers, all have active morphers. Only Eltare can make any sort of claim remotely like ours." Wes smiled with a quiet pride, "Well, we didn't listen and you got hit in the teeth. I guess that you'll hear this again later, but I'm sorry. I didn't look into Lothor as thoroughly as I should have when we were first alerted to the threat." He looked down at his hands, "We didn't believe, and we let him get by us."

"What Moon Mission?" Hunter asked.

"Only the greatest excuse to kick Red ass in the history of Earth Rangers," Tyler said, her tone amused as she threw herself onto a couch.

Hunter went from interested to sick in moments, "Oh, _that_ mission. Dr. Oliver told me about that."

Cam glanced at him, "When?"

"When Conner did that thing, you know, with that rock and got everyone all freaked," Hunter said, clearly trying to be direct and vague at the same time. Wes wondered if it was an embarrassing story, or if Hunter just didn't want to talk about it.

"Oh, that time," Cam said a moment later, "is that what he was doing when he locked you, Shane and Conner in the Lair?"

"Something like that, just some 'important Red tricks'," Hunter shrugged, "Nothing life altering."

"Ah, the infamous Reds meeting," Wes said, "Tommy said he was going to lecture any Red he happened to come across after the Mission. I take it he followed on it."

"And bouncing like a child at the thought of three for one," Hunter muttered.

Cam eyed Hunter for a long moment, "And when were you going to share?"

"As soon as Shane did," Hunter replied indifferently, his attention zeroed in on the table and he began to idly run his thumb over it.

Wes glanced at Taylor, who looked amused, then glanced slightly over his shoulder to where the rest of the Wild Force team stood. Danny stood in the doorway, with Max just in front of him, Cole in the center, and Merric behind and to the left of him. Zen Aku leaned against the door frame, creating a perfect V formation. The image was too good to resist, "Look Taylor, they're posing."

Taylor glanced up, and smirked, "He's right. Sit down guys. I don't think anything bad is going to happen."

Cole, looking a little wild around the eyes sat down in another arm chair, "Just so long as that fucking idiot keeps his mouth shut," he growled. A loud thud made everyone turn to look; Danny had fallen out of his chair, in shock by the look on his face.

"That's enough," Hunter said, "we're here to save our teammates, not practice unarmed combat." He turned his head, "You guys might as well come back in. We need to finish this."

Sheepishly, the Lightspeed team filed back into the room, with Joel spouting an odd bandage on his nose; said Green Ranger took a seat by the door, in a chair that had been dragged from the kitchen. Carter and the others took seats between Joel and the others, a move that made Wes sigh, they would have to rebuild the bridges here before they could really get this done.


	15. Stars

A/N: Sorry for the delay...I kept finding the good guys an awkward write, so I went with something different, hope it explains a few things. Next chapter, well, it's going to be a bit ironic, but I'm in a mood for irony. Enjoy!

Diclaimer: I am not Disney, I am not rich, and I do not own the Power Rangers.

"Ok," Cam said, he laid a memory stick on the table, "This is what Alyssa dropped. I should be able to use it with out problem, although, I should do as Christian suggested and use the black laptop. I don't know what we'll find on here, so I'm setting it aside. I will say that Justin was right; everything about the Star Master implies that it is very dangerous. However, he does have a weakness; the Night Stars. We need them to defeat him; however, there are few clues about the Stars. Also, we have to watch for the Star Children, those are our teammates. They'll be looking for the Day Stars, when they get them and combine them, they'll be going after us." He sighed, "Thing is, the Night Stars are scattered. We'll have to divide into teams to find them."

"Well, that will keep Cole from killing Joel," Taylor said.

"So, what, we have three teams here," Wes said, "and I'll go with Lightspeed to give them a sixth, right?"

"Not exactly," Cam replied, "What we'll need is to divide in such a way as to make sure we can retrieve the Night Stars. They respond to personality, color, ah," he looked up, "look, why don't we take a day to make long term arrangements for ourselves? I can read all of this information, and put together something useful for us to have. Also, this will give Dustin and Shane the chance to get their classes covered, and give the Astro Rangers time to contact us."

"I agree," Wes said, "we don't know anything, and we need to research this."

Cam considered the computer, "What I'm willing to do," he said, looking at the room, "is to read this, and put together a report that all of us can read. It should take me about a day, if no one bothers me." From the look he shot Hunter, it was clear who that was directed at. Hunter just looked innocent.

"All right," Wes said, looking around, "I'm all for that."

There were nods all around, and Cam smiled, "Excellent. Now, I suggest that you all try to stay out of trouble and let me work on this. I'll be staying here, simply because the students won't come here to bother us. Leave me alone and I'll have this done faster."

The Rangers wandered off, some talking quietly, others just deep in thought, and Cam settled himself on the floor to read everything Justin had compiled on this new enemy.

The sun had nearly set, and pizza was scattered all over the floor from a massive take out order, before Cam was ready. He had with him a small stack of bound papers, "All right, here's my report, based on Justin's information," he said, "due to cost, I've made two copies for each team, except for you Wes, you only get one. I recommend that we meet tomorrow to talk about this." The Rangers accepted the notes and left, some already reading his words.

Alyssa watched the stars from her window, knees tucked under her. Although she seemed calm, a battle raged in her mind, part of her yearned to be back on Earth, pursuing Cole and teaching her students. Another part of her wanted this, the darkness of this ship and the casual cruelty the others indulged in. They seemed happy to plot with and against each other, with TJ the clear leader, by strength of arm and mind. His history as a Red and Blue Ranger kept him ahead of the game here, while Carlos and Eric competed to be his second. Carlos held the position because TJ looked to him out of long habit, but Eric seemed to have something planned to take over.

Ryan and Tori, on the other hand, tended to be the loners, Ryan because he seemed to have problems with his evil tendencies. He spent the most time in the Master's allegiance spells, keeping him trapped as surely as a vice. Tori, on the other hand, was more of a loner by nature. Her ingrained Ninja Honor was being twisted in response to her new life in ways not even Lothor could have imagined. Alyssa wasn't sure when she was in control, or why 'Sa, the evil part of her, was. The flash drive she'd given the Rangers, was that her idea, or had it been 'Sa, wanting to sabotage them in their efforts. Certainly it had been 'Sa who had spoken to Cole, why would she, who loved him, say such things?

The door to her room slid open and Alyssa turned, feeling the emotions of 'Sa take control. "Sitting in the dark?" Tori said, "How, lonely."

Alyssa slipped off the seat with a grace she could never command as herself, "Only if you believe so, Victoria. What do you want?"

"It is not my want," Tori replied, "but our Master's."

Alyssa inclined our head, "What is the wish of our Master?"

"We are summoned to the training chamber." Tori said.

Alyssa stalked past Tori, her movements filled with a sultry grace that she had never achieved as a Ranger, indeed, only superficially was she like her former self. The school girl skirt and blouse were gone, replaced with tight leather pants in a deep rose, and a white, leather shirt that bore a very strong resemblance to a vest. Tori, also, had changed. She wore a pair of loose, green silk pants that clung in all the right places and a kimono style top with a water spot pattern. The shirt was teal with an aqua belt and hemming. It didn't look like the garb of an evil warrior, but Tori seemed to like it.

Together, the girls headed to the largest room on the ship, outside the crew areas. Inside, their Master's host stood waiting with the others. Alyssa wasn't sure what race had spawned the host, or if the Master hadn't changed him with his possession. The being was humanoid, with waist length black hair streaked with blood red and dull silver. His eyes were black with red pupils, and his ears were delicate and pointed. He was dressed in black and red with faint silver touches, similar to Tori.

Everyone turned as the two walked in, and TJ frowned at them, "You're late," he said softly.

"Tori took her sweet time in telling me we were needed," Alyssa replied, moving away from her green companion. She took a place next to Ryan, wincing inside at the sight of the green, spiked collar he wore. It was clear that he was being conditioned again. Besides the collar, Ryan wore a shapeless gray shirt and pants, his eyes were dull and his hair uncombed. He wasn't really paying attention to them, but that was becoming normal for the former Silver Ranger. The longer they stayed, the harder it seemed for him to focus on the world around him, and his collar became more and more a part of him.

TJ and Carlos both wore jeans, although TJ had a blood red shirt, and Carlos wore a white one. They had the same stance, they were attentive to their Master, but also, well aware of their elevation over the others. Eric wore black pants that hugged his lower body and a black t-shirt that showed off muscles that weren't evident in the uniforms he had once lived in. Out of the once omni-present Silver Guardian uniform, Eric was surprisingly attractive. Alyssa thought she could finally see what Taylor saw in the man.

"You are here now," the Master observed, and Alyssa knelt obediently, followed by the others. "My Children, our search goes well. Those stupid Rangers believe that they might find the Night Stars to counter us, but like so many before, they will fail. Now comes the time for you to learn to use the Gifts I have blessed you with. Your powers will serve you well in battle." Alyssa watched through her lashes as he approached TJ, "Theodore, Child of Red, I have given you the ability to enhance your senses. As you seek to lead, I give you a Power that will assist."

"Master," TJ replied.

"Carlos, loyal second, to you is given the ability to teleport. That is, you may move yourself and what you touch as far as you must go, by will alone. Use this gift well."

"Master," Carlos said.

"Eric, my loyal warrior, you are an Empath. May you sow fear and discord amongst your enemies, that the battles be short and victorious."

"Master," Eric said, his tone harsh with some emotion.

"Ryan," the Master paused, "my Ryan. You are a telepath, for there are times when words aloud will lose a fight." Ryan mumbled something, and the Master smiled slightly before moving on. "Alyssa, you are given psychokineses, the ability to move objects with a brief thought. May you use it well."

Alyssa bowed her head, "Master," she said.

"Finally, Victoria, my noble Ninja. I give to you Magic. Yes, I know, you have control of water, but this is more. After all, soaking your enemies isn't exactly the key to winning a battle."

"Yes, Master," Tori murmured.

"You will come here for two hours every day from now on," the Master said, "I will train you in your Gift, and you will study additional fighting styles. When those pathetic fools come to stop us, we will be ready, and far more powerful than they would ever dream." He laughed, and like obedient, mindless puppets, the six 'Children' echoed him.


	16. AN: Farewell

I know people have actually come to like 'Brotherly Love' and 'Written in the Stars', but, unfortunately, I will no longer be writing these series. I have some health problems, and I'm having trouble keeping a place to live (among other things.) However, my friend 'Guardian' will be taking over. She's been helping me with my stories since I first started writing and she knows them as well, if not better than, I do. I will continue to help her write them for as long as I can, but I don't know how long that will be.

G and I will be working on making changes to the stories, things I wish I'd written like that, and we're going to make the universe flow better. Yeah, I'd half-written them as two continual pieces, and we decided to go all the way. So, we're going to focus on 'Brotherly Love' because it takes place 'first' for the most part. G has some ideas about everything that I do endorse. As I told her, she has the plots, the random ideas, the background information, and everything I've written. Even when I can't work on this with her anymore, she'll know what I wanted. Since I happen to think that G has an incredible amount of talent, and I know she's been lacking ideas for a bit, I think, no actually, I know, this will spawn some more chapters of her own works.

I appreciate that everyone has been such loyal readers, and I hope that you can enjoy what G does with my stories as well as what I've written in the past.

Thank You

Jace  
a.k.a.  
Unconquered


End file.
